How shared reading relates to brain specialization for language

What is it about?

This study examined how the amount of parent-to-child shared reading relates to children’s brain function while playing language games. A group of 5–6-year-old children and a group of 7–8-year-old children completed these games. The children were asked if pairs of words matched in sound or meaning, tapping into ‘phonological’ and ‘semantic’ processing. The children’s brain activation was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Comparing brain activation during the games allowed a determination of specialization for processing the sounds and meaning of words. The children’s parents completed survey questions about the amount of shared reading in the home. We found weak evidence that parent-to-child reading was related to brain specialization in phonological regions in children 5-6 years old and in semantic regions in children 7-8 years old.

Why is it important?

Language and reading are skills that are related to life outcomes such as academics, career success, and overall well-being. Shared reading between the adult and child is a practice that is known to be related to the neural basis of language, but we did not know whether this was specific to certain components of language. To answer this question, we measured brain activity during two types of word games, which allowed us to examine specialization for processing the sounds or meanings of words. Shared reading was related to phonological regions in younger, but semantic regions in older children. This pattern of results suggests that shared reading could support sound structure processing of spoken words early in development and deepen meaning processing of spoken words later in development, though future longitudinal research is needed to confirm that is the case.