How the Brain Learns to Read

Joan Hargrave, CCC-SLP & Nina Kraus, PhD Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu joan.hargrave@northwestern.edu

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The Auditory Neuroscience Lab studies how the brain’s ability to

change can be harnessed to improve human communication.

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Road Map

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•   Our brain measure •   Reading and the brain •   Intervention/classroom

applications

Auditory brain response to complex sounds

COMPLEX SOUNDS

Speech

AUDITORY BRAIN

RESPONSE Electrical activity

in the brain

stimulus

response

Access biology how?

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Complex Auditory Brain Response

Objective

Vetted

Mobile

Fast

Repeatable

Uniform

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Detail Speech Sound

Auditory Brain Response

fMRI Response

Reading

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Sound to meaning

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“Sound it out …”

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Auditory brain response tells us something about LITERACY

/dɑ/

consonant vowel

School-age Readers

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1) Stability

Hornickel & Kraus (2013) JNeuro

“da”

Brain response

Unstable Stable

Hornickel & Kraus (2013) J Neuro; Banai et al. (2009) Cereb Cortex; Wible et al. (2005) Brain, Wible et al. (2004) Biol Psych, King et al. (2002) Neurosci Lett, Cunningham et al. (2002) Clin Neurophysiol;

2) Timing “da”

Brain response

Good Reader Poor Reader

Hornickel & Kraus (2013) J Neuro; Banai et al. (2009) Cereb Cortex; Wible et al. (2005) Brain, Wible et al. (2004) Biol Psych, King et al. (2002) Neurosci Lett, Cunningham et al. (2002) Clin Neurophysiol;

3) Harmonics

Good Readers Poor Readers

“da”

Brain response

Mor

e ro

bust

bra

in re

spon

se

Frequency (Hz)

Harmonics

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70% correct identification

Typically-Developing Reading Impaired

In School-Age Readers:

Preschool Literacy Study

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White-Schwoch et al. (2015) PLoS Biol

Timing Stability

Harmonics Phonological Awareness

Rapid Naming

Age 3 Age 4

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http://www.npr.org/ www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu/inthenews.php

The test that can look into a child’s reading future

Intervention: Dyslexia

→

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Response to Intervention

Hornickel et al. (2012) PNAS

Hyde Park Day Schools

FM listening device in the classroom

Pre-test Post-test

1 year

Hornickel et al. (2012) PNAS; see reading slideshow to learn more

Pre-training Post-training

Bra

in F

unct

ion

and

R

eadi

ng A

bilit

ies

typical Enhanced

Diminished

dyslexic

Brain Function

Reading Abilities

4 Reading improvements

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Clinical Multi-disciplinary Evaluations

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Recruitment

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www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu

Supported by: NIH – NICHD NIH- NIDCD

NSF NAMM

Knowles Hearing Center Grammy Foundation Mathers Foundation