Atypical gray matter in children with dyslexia before the onset of reading instruction

Abstract Many studies have focused on neuroanatomical anomalies in dyslexia, yet primarily in school-aged children and adults. In the present study, we investigated gray matter surface area and cortical thickness at the pre-reading stage in a cohort of 54 children, 31 with a family risk for dyslexia and 23 without a family risk for dyslexia, of whom 16 children developed dyslexia. Surface-based analyses in the core regions of the reading network in the left hemisphere and in the corresponding right hemispheric regions were performed in FreeSurfer. Results revealed that pre-readers who develop dyslexia show reduced surface area in bilateral fusiform gyri. In addition, anomalies related to a family risk for dyslexia, irrespectively of later reading ability, were observed in the area of the bilateral inferior and middle temporal gyri. Differences were apparent in surface area, as opposed to cortical thickness. Results indicate that the neuroanatomical anomalies, since they are observed in the pre-reading phase, are not the consequence of impoverished reading experience.