Pre-literate children already show a left-hemisphere bias for letter processing before any training¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r1 · q3
Currency · newest study 2010 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2015: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Even before training, left fusiform (especially anterior) responded more to letters than to shapes and pseudo-letters, while right fusiform responded similarly to all three stimulus types. → James 2010

Evidence¶

James 2010¶

James, K. H. (2010). Sensori-motor experience leads to changes in visual processing in the developing brain. Developmental Science, 13(2), 279-288. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00883.x

q3 · i? · causal · r1

Pre-training scans of twelve pre-literate children (all could name at least 80% of the alphabet) showed left fusiform preference for letters over matched pseudo-letters and shapes; right fusiform showed no such preference. The article reports this as evidence the brain organizes toward left-hemisphere print dominance before reading.

"The left fusiform gyrus, especially in the anterior portion, responded more to letters than to shapes and pseudo-letters, even prior to our training manipulation (Figures 4 and 5). In contrast, however, the right fusiform responded similarly to letters, shapes and pseudo-letters (Figures 6 and 7)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Printing training increases letter response in right anterior fusiform but produces no change in right posterior fusiform — related
• Printing training increases letter-evoked activation in left anterior fusiform gyrus of pre-school children — related
• Printing (sensori-motor) training, but not visual-only training, increases left posterior fusiform activation during letter perception in pre-school children — related