Dr. Michael A. Skeide | Institutskolloquium

Identifying biological predispositions for developing dyslexia by combining genetic and neuroimaging data

Abstract:
Successful literacy acquisition depends on the flexibility of the brain to reconfigure itself in response to environmental influences [1, 2, 3]. However, literacy achievement is not  entirely explained by environmental factors. Instead, family studies have shown that it has a substantial heritable component [4]. Specific difficulties in becoming literate (developmental dyslexia) have been linked to numerous risk genes, some of which have been associated with functional and structural MRI measures in adults and school-age children [5, 6, 7]. It remains open, however, if these effects are potential causal factors for developmental dyslexia or just a consequence of the impoverished literacy experience of dyslexic individuals [8]. In this talk, I will present the results of a recent study in which we identified relations between dyslexia risk genes and brain macrostructure to see if the obtained gene-brain-association clusters can not only separate dyslexics from controls but also predict dyslexia before literacy onset. The findings suggest that the cortical plasticity of a region vital for literacy might be genetically modulated, thereby potentially preconstraining literacy outcome [9].

1.    Carreiras et al. (2009) Nature 461: 983-986.
2.    Brem et al. (2010) PNAS 107: 7939-7944.
3.    Dehaene et al. (2010) Science 330: 1359-1364.
4.    Harlaar et al. (2005) J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46: 373-384.
5.    Darki et al. (2012) Biol Psychiatry 72: 671-676.
6.    Pinel et al. (2012) J Neurosci 32: 817-825.
7.    Skeide et al. (2015) Neuroimage 118: 414-421.
8.    Goswami (2015) Nat Rev Neurosci 16: 43-54.
9.    Skeide et al. (2016) Brain doi:10.1093/brain/aww153.