Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41700331›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental science2026

Functional Connectivity Fingerprints of Emerging Reading Skill in the First Months of Schooling.

Rebecca A Marks, Florence Bouhali, Xin Sun, Jocelyn F Caballero, Olga Kepinska, Yuuko Uchikoshi, Adriene Beltz, Ioulia Kovelman, Fumiko Hoeft

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Developmental science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Rebecca A MarksDepartment of Human Development & Family Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
Florence BouhaliCRPN, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
Xin SunDepartment of Language Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Jocelyn F CaballeroDepartment of Communty Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Olga KepinskaLPL, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France.
Yuuko UchikoshiSchool of Education, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
Adriene BeltzDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Ioulia KovelmanDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Fumiko HoeftDepartment of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.

Funding

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Compensation in DyslexiaR01HD096261 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · PI HOEFT, FUMIKO · 2018 to 2023
$3.4M
Intergenerational Neuroimaging of Language and Reading Networks Using a Natural Cross-Fostering DesignR01HD094834 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · PI HOEFT, FUMIKO · 2019 to 2024
$3.4M
Understanding literacy acquisition through immersion in foreign languagesR01HD078351 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI HENDREN, ROBERT LEE, HOEFT, FUMIKO · 2015 to 2020
$3.0M
Bilingual Children with DLD: A Neurodevelopmental PerspectiveR01HD109224 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS · PI Ioulia Kovelman · 2023 to 2026
$2.4M
Bilingual and cross-cultural investigation of developmental dyslexiaR01HD111637 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Ioulia Kovelman · 2023 to 2026
$2.3M
Impact of heritage language on bilingual children's path to English literacy (Diversity Supplement R01 HD092498)R01HD092498 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI KOVELMAN, IOULIA · 2018 to 2023
$2.1M
Neurocognitive Foundations of Morphological Processing in Children with DyslexiaF32HD110967 · NICHD · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI MARKS, REBECCA · 2022 to 2024
$136k
Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR-16-CONV-0002Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale ARF202209015734NICHD NIH HHS F32 HD110967NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD078351NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD092498NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD094834NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD096261NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD109224NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD111637NIH HHS F32HD110967NIH HHS R01HD092498NIH HHS R01HD094834NIH HHS R01HD096261NIH HHS R01HD111637NWO Rubicon Fellowship 019.181SG.006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The transition from pre-reading to early word reading skill in early childhood is a time of profound developmental change. To understand changes in brain networks associated with reading development, this study examined individual differences in functional connectivity for reading at the start of formal literacy instruction. Sixty-six kindergarteners (ages 5-6) completed a visual word processing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Based on standardized literacy assessments, participants were characterized as Pre-Readers (alphabetic knowledge but unable to read words) or Beginning Readers (some word reading ability). We compared patterns of task-based functional connectivity between children at different stages of literacy development using confirmatory subgroup Group Iterative Multilevel Model Estimation (cs-GIMME). cs-GIMME is a data-driven method that estimates individualized network connections between a priori regions of interest. Pre- and Beginning Readers did not differ in overall network complexity (number of functional connections between regions of interest). However, distinct periods of reading development corresponded to differences in network centrality, defined as the proportion of network connections involving specific regions of interest. Pre-Readers had more distributed connections and greater within-right hemisphere connectivity. In comparison, Beginning Readers demonstrated more symmetrical network organization, and greater centrality of the Visual Word Form Area and other left hemisphere language hubs. Increased reading skill was linearly associated with increased left lateralization, potentially reflecting more mature networks and greater print processing efficiency. These findings provide novel insights into child brain development during the first year of formal schooling by revealing links between emerging literacy skills and functional neural connectivity.

Indexed as

BrainChild DevelopmentReadingBrain MappingChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansLiteracyMagnetic Resonance ImagingMalefMRIFunctional connectivityIndividual differencesLearningLiteracyReading development

Identifiers

PMID41700331
PMCPMC12910327

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.