Print  Close

Neural Mechanisms of Morphological Processing in Chinese-Speaking Children Across Literacy Levels

Poster No:

815 

Submission Type:

Abstract Submission 

Authors:

Syuan-Yu Lin1, Shiou-Yuan Chen2, Li-Ying Fan3, Hsin-Chin Chen4, Wei-Hung Lin1, Tai-Li Chou1

Institutions:

1Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, 2Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, 3Department of Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan, 4Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan

First Author:

Syuan-Yu Lin  
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan

Co-Author(s):

Shiou-Yuan Chen  
Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Taipei
Taipei, Taiwan
Li-Ying Fan  
Department of Education, National Taipei University of Education
Taipei, Taiwan
Hsin-Chin Chen  
Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University
Chiayi, Taiwan
Wei-Hung Lin  
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan
Tai-Li Chou  
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan

Introduction:

This study aims to examine the neural mechanisms underlying morphological processing in native Chinese-speaking children with different literacy levels. Morphological processing is essential for literacy development and Chinese language processing. However, previous studies on children with low literacy levels, such as those with dyslexia, have primarily focused on phonological processing, as children with dyslexia often struggle with language sound processing. Dyslexia affects approximately 20% of the global population, making it a significant neurodevelopmental disorder that warrants thorough investigation. Furthermore, behavioral research on morphological processing in dyslexia has yielded conflicting findings, highlighting gaps in our understanding that could be explored through neuroimaging studies.

Methods:

Our study recruited 35 native Chinese-speaking children aged 7 to 12, including 17 with low literacy levels and 18 with high literacy levels. All participants completed a Chinese morphological judgment task, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to visualize their brain activity during the task. In the experimental condition, participants heard three consecutive words and were instructed to select the word that shared the same compound root or derivational affix as the first word, while ignoring the distractor word that had a similar sound. In the control condition, participants were simply asked to choose the word identical to the first word. We initially analyzed brain activity separately for children with high and low literacy levels, then compared brain activation between the two groups to examine the distinct neural activation patterns associated with different literacy levels.

Results:

Neuroimaging results revealed that children with high literacy exhibited activation in the anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG) in both hemispheres and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) during the task. In contrast, children with low literacy showed activation in both the anterior and posterior regions of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) across both hemispheres, as well as in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Compared to children with high literacy, those with low literacy exhibited greater activation in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG).
Supporting Image: Figure1.jpg
   ·Differences in brain activation between children with low and high literacy levels, based on the contrast between experimental and control conditions in the Chinese morphological judgment task.
 

Conclusions:

The neuroimaging results suggest that children with low literacy recruit more brain regions in the right hemisphere to facilitate their morphological processing, indicating the use of compensatory mechanisms. Due to their lower literacy levels, relying solely on brain areas in the left hemisphere was insufficient; therefore, they also needed to engage additional regions in the right hemisphere to complete the morphological judgment task. Also, greater activation in the STG and MTG is related to semantic processing in literacy development. These findings highlight distinct neural patterns associated with different literacy levels in Chinese-speaking children, with those having low literacy potentially relying more on the right hemisphere and semantic aids to support their morphological processing. By gaining a better understanding of the neural mechanisms behind morphological processing in children with different literacy levels, we may be able to design more effective treatments and interventions to improve reading skills in children with dyslexia and low literacy.

Disorders of the Nervous System:

Neurodevelopmental/ Early Life (eg. ADHD, autism) 2

Language:

Language Acquisition
Language Comprehension and Semantics
Reading and Writing 1

Keywords:

Acquisition
Cognition
Development
Language
Learning
Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS)
Neurological
Other - dyslexia; literacy development; morphological processing

1|2Indicates the priority used for review

Abstract Information

By submitting your proposal, you grant permission for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) to distribute your work in any format, including video, audio print and electronic text through OHBM OnDemand, social media channels, the OHBM website, or other electronic publications and media.

I accept

The Open Science Special Interest Group (OSSIG) is introducing a reproducibility challenge for OHBM 2025. This new initiative aims to enhance the reproducibility of scientific results and foster collaborations between labs. Teams will consist of a “source” party and a “reproducing” party, and will be evaluated on the success of their replication, the openness of the source work, and additional deliverables. Click here for more information. Propose your OHBM abstract(s) as source work for future OHBM meetings by selecting one of the following options:

I do not want to participate in the reproducibility challenge.

Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.

Task-activation

Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):

Healthy subjects

Was this research conducted in the United States?

No

Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.

Yes

Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.

Not applicable

Please indicate which methods were used in your research:

Behavior
Other, Please specify  -   functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

Provide references using APA citation style.

not applicable

UNESCO Institute of Statistics and World Bank Waiver Form

I attest that I currently live, work, or study in a country on the UNESCO Institute of Statistics and World Bank List of Low and Middle Income Countries list provided.

No