Back to Search Start Over

Brain connectivity and academic skills in English learners.

Authors :
Nugiel T
Demeter DV
Mitchell ME
Garza A
Hernandez AE
Juranek J
Church JA
Source :
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) [Cereb Cortex] 2024 Jan 14; Vol. 34 (1).
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

English learners (ELs) are a rapidly growing population in schools in the United States with limited experience and proficiency in English. To better understand the path for EL's academic success in school, it is important to understand how EL's brain systems are used for academic learning in English. We studied, in a cohort of Hispanic middle-schoolers (nā€‰=ā€‰45, 22F) with limited English proficiency and a wide range of reading and math abilities, brain network properties related to academic abilities. We applied a method for localizing brain regions of interest (ROIs) that are group-constrained, yet individually specific, to test how resting state functional connectivity between regions that are important for academic learning (reading, math, and cognitive control regions) are related to academic abilities. ROIs were selected from task localizers probing reading and math skills in the same participants. We found that connectivity across all ROIs, as well as connectivity of just the cognitive control ROIs, were positively related to measures of reading skills but not math skills. This work suggests that cognitive control brain systems have a central role for reading in ELs. Our results also indicate that an individualized approach for localizing brain function may clarify brain-behavior relationships.<br /> (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1460-2199
Volume :
34
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
38044467
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhad414