A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Developmental dyslexia susceptibility genes DNAAF4, DCDC2, and NRSN1 are associated with brain function in fluently reading adolescents and young adults
Authors: Rinne Nea, Wikman Patrik, Sahari Elisa, Salmi Juha, Einarsdóttir Elisabet, Kere Juha, Alho Kimmo
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Cerebral Cortex
Journal name in source: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
Journal acronym: Cereb Cortex
Article number: bhae144
Volume: 34
Issue: 4
ISSN: 1047-3211
eISSN: 1460-2199
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae144
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae144
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387687089
Reading skills and developmental dyslexia, characterized by difficulties in developing reading skills, have been associated with brain anomalies within the language network. Genetic factors contribute to developmental dyslexia risk, but the mechanisms by which these genes influence reading skills remain unclear. In this preregistered study (https://osf.io/7sehx), we explored if developmental dyslexia susceptibility genes DNAAF4, DCDC2, NRSN1, and KIAA0319 are associated with brain function in fluently reading adolescents and young adults. Functional MRI and task performance data were collected during tasks involving written and spoken sentence processing, and DNA sequence variants of developmental dyslexia susceptibility genes previously associated with brain structure anomalies were genotyped. The results revealed that variation in DNAAF4, DCDC2, and NRSN1 is associated with brain activity in key language regions: the left inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and intraparietal sulcus. Furthermore, NRSN1 was associated with task performance, but KIAA0319 did not yield any significant associations. Our findings suggest that individuals with a genetic predisposition to developmental dyslexia may partly employ compensatory neural and behavioral mechanisms to maintain typical task performance. Our study highlights the relevance of these developmental dyslexia susceptibility genes in language-related brain function, even in individuals without developmental dyslexia, providing valuable insights into the genetic factors influencing language processing.
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