{
  "abstract": "Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a specific learning disorder characterized by reading difficulties that are not due to intellectual disabilities, sensory impairments (such as vision or hearing issues), neurological or motor disorders, limited educational access, insufficient language proficiency, or psychosocial challenges (WHO, 2018). Galaburda et al. (1985) proposed the complex interplay of genetic, environmental, sex-related, and brain factors in the development of DD. In the recent decade, white matter connectivity has emerged as a promising avenue for uncovering the neural mechanism of DD. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of white matter connectivity disruptions, its compensatory mechanisms, and its associated cognitive deficits in children with dyslexia, particularly based on our team's work over the past decade using the French dyslexia brain dataset (DysBrain). The DysBrain dataset contains high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from 64 French children aged 9–14 years, including 32 with dyslexia and 32 typically developing children. White matter pathway deficits have been widely studied in DD. The arcuate fasciculus (AF), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) have been found as key white matter association pathways in relation to dyslexia. Multiple DTI studies have shown significantly lower left AF connectivity, as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA), in dyslexic readers compared to controls (see review by Vandermosten et al., 2012). Our initial study using the DysBrain dataset verified lower FA in the left AF (combing three segments of AF: long, anterior, and posterior segments) in French dyslexic children compared to their age-matched controls (Zhao et al., 2016; as shown in Fig. 1, left panel). We also found that the left AF (long segment) showed significantly lower FA in Chinese children with dyslexia compared to controls (Su et al., 2018; as shown in Fig. 1, middle panel). Beyond the AF, other white matter tracts, such as the ventral IFOF and ILF, have also been shown with lower connectivity in dyslexia compared to their typically developing peers (Steinbrink et al., 2008; Vandermosten et al., 2015). Our study on Chinese dyslexic children found lower FA in the left ILF compared to controls (Su et al., 2018; as shown in Fig. 1, middle panel). Other than the extensively studied white matter pathways associated with dyslexia, the uncinate fasciculus (UF) has only received attention recently in our team. Our study using the DysBrain dataset found disrupted UF connectivity in DD, with a more pronounced effect in boys (Zhao et al., 2022; as shown in Fig. 1, right panel). White matter pathway anomalies in DD (adapted from Zhao et al., 2016; Su et al., 2018, 2022). AF: arcuate fasciculus, AFLS: long segment of arcuate fasciculus, AFAS: anterior segment of arcuate fasciculus, AFPS: posterior segment of arcuate fasciculus, ILF: inferior longitudinal fasciculus, UF: uncinate fasciculus. Beyond white matter pathway disruptions, anomalies in white matter lateralization was found to be another important feature of dyslexia. Studies have shown that most typically developing individuals exhibited leftward asymmetry in the AF, both in children (Dubois et al., 2009; Lebel et al., 2012) and in adults (Lebel & Beaulieu, 2009). However, the leftward dominance of the AF may not be as evident in individuals with dyslexia (Banfi et al., 2019; Vandermosten et al., 2013). Longitudinal studies have shown that, in the pre-reading stage, the AF of the at-risk group was right-lateralized, while that of the control group was left-lateralized (Wang et al., 2017). Our study, using the DysBrain dataset, for the first time reported a significant rightward deviation in the second segment of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF II) in children with dyslexia (Zhao et al., 2016; see Fig. 2, left panel). Furthermore, reduced leftward lateralization of the IFOF in dyslexic children compared to the control group has also been observed (Zhao et al., 2016; see Fig. 2, right panel). White matter lateralization anomalies in DD (adapted from Zhao et al., 2016). HMOA: hindrance-modulated oriented anisotropy, lateralization index: (right - left)/(right + left) of HMOA, SLF: superior longitudinal fasciculus, IFOF: inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. Imaging studies based on graph theory have emerged as an effective and unique approach for investigating structural and functional connectivity patterns in developing brains (Behrens et al., 2007; Mori et al., 1999; Mori & van Zijl, 2002). To date, only few studies applied graph theory to analyze the white matter connectome in DD, primarily from our team using the DysBrain dataset. Our team using network based statistics found that children with dyslexia showed a reduction in white matter fiber connections within a left occipito-temporo-parietal network mainly including brain regions of the superior temporal pole, the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), the middle occipital gyrus, the superior temporal gyrus, Heschl's gyrus, the insula, the Rolandic operculum, and the supramarginal gyrus (Lou et al., 2019; see Fig. 3, upper panel). The network showing disruptions in dyslexic children incorporated the left AF and ILF (Lou et al., 2019; see Fig. 3, lower panel), consistent with our previous white matter pathways anomalies findings. White matter network anomalies in developmental dyslexia. Reprinted from a previous study (with permission of Wiley from Lou et al., 2019). L: left; TPOsup: superior temporal pole, MTG: middle temporal gyrus, MOG: middle occipital gyrus, STG: superior temporal gyrus, HES: Heschl's gyrus, INS: insula, ROL: Rolandic operculum, SMG: supramarginal gyrus. To examine the associations between white matter connectivity and cognitive deficits in DD, our team mainly applied a data-driven, hub-based white matter network approach. We identified specific subnetworks with distinct…",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
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  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Jingjing Zhao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yueye Zhao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zujun Song"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jianyi Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michel Thiebaut de Schotten"
    },
    {
      "name": "Franck Ramus"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9t5thgra6f8k6.bib",
  "cited_by": 7,
  "doi": "10.1093/psyrad/kkae029",
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  "id": "9t5thgra6f8k6",
  "issns": [
    "2634-4416"
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  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05852651v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
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  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/psyrad/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/psyrad/kkae029/61230897/kkae029.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9t5thgra6f8k6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T12:20:13Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05852651",
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      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05852651v1"
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  "subjects": [
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      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "hal:1.sdv.neu",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
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  "title": "A decade of white matter connectivity studies in developmental dyslexia",
  "title_text": "A decade of white matter connectivity studies in developmental dyslexia",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:20:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9t5thgra6f8k6",
  "venue": "Psychoradiology",
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}