Region of Interest Analysis Results of Children with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia During Word Reading Task

Developmental dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by adequate intelligence, delays, and impairments in reading and writing processes despite educational opportunity. Developmental dysgraphia, which is associated with dyslexia, is manifested by weakness and impairments in the writing process. In this study, the similarities and differences between the two learning disabilities on the functionality of the brain were examined. The task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data used in the study were taken from OpenfMRI. At the time of the fMRI, the subjects were instructed to read aloud normal words and pseudo-homophone words to German-speaking children with dyslexia (20) and dysgraphia (16) and to normal children that form the control (22) group. Region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed by selecting the regions of the fusiform gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the precuneus, and the precentral gyrus, which include regions related to reading in the literature. As a result of the study, among the selected ROIs, differences were found between the groups in the left fusiform gyrus, the right IFG, and the precuneus regions. The number of studies examining dyslexia and dysgraphia together is insufficient in the literature. Our study contributes to the literature, by revealing the functional differences of dyslexia, dysgraphia, and normal brain in reading task