Associations Between Neurological Correlates of Reading and Learning Disability Profiles Among Children
Abstract
Early reading skills are vital for child development. Children with specific reading learning disabilities (SLD-R) display persistent difficulties acquiring reading skills. They are at an increased risk for adverse life outcomes, including mental health concerns, low educational attainment, and low academic motivation. Progress in neurobiological research provides opportunities to enhance the assessment and identification of learning disabilities by revealing distinct neurological patterns of learning. However, the integration of this progress with school psychology research is rare. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate brain network connectivity as a biomarker of reading using resting-state quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) coherence. Fronto-central alpha, left-hemispheric alpha, and fronto-temporal beta 3 coherence were differentially predictive of reading skills and not general intellectual or math ability. Fronto-central, frontoparietal, right hemispheric beta 2 and beta 3 coherence and fronto-central theta coherence were predictive of general cognitive ability. Similarly, left hemispheric beta 2, beta 3, and delta (positive and negative) coherence and right hemispheric alpha coherence were predictive of general ability. Results suggest the importance of alpha fronto-central coherence as a biomarker of specific reading disability. Exploratory analyses demonstrated how QEEG components add significant variance in explaining reading skills when accounting for general language and underlying cognitive abilities.