Research

Reading

We conduct behavioral and neuroimaging studies to examine how typical reading occurs in the brain and how brain structure and function change as children become more proficient readers.

Turkeltaub, P. E., Gareau, L., Flowers, D. L., Zeffiro, T. A., & Eden, G. F. (2003). Development of neural mechanisms for reading. Nature Neuroscience, 6(7), 767–773. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1065

Reading Disability: Dyslexia

We use behavioral and neuroimaging methods to better understand the origins of developmental dyslexia. We conduct research by comparing people with dyslexia to non-dyslexics to understand how brain structure and function differ. We also examine how intervention programs lead to structural and functional changes in children with dyslexia.

Krafnick, A. J., Flowers, D. L., Luetje, M. M., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2014). An investigation into the origin of anatomical differences in dyslexia. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 34(3), 901–908. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2092-13.2013

Krafnick, A. J., Flowers, D. L., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2011). Gray matter volume changes following reading intervention in dyslexic children. Neuroimage, 57(3), 733–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.10.062.Gray

Eden, G. F., Jones, K. M., Cappell, K., Gareau, L., Wood, F. B., Zeffiro, T. A., … Flowers, D. L. (2004). Neural changes following remediation in adult developmental dyslexia. Neuron, 44(3), 411–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2004.10.019


Spelling

We study the neural basis of spelling, and how reading and spelling may have shared and distinct neural representations.

Purcell, J. J., Jiang, X., & Eden, G. F. (2017). Shared orthographic neuronal representations for spelling and reading. NeuroImage, 147, 554–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.12.054

Purcell, J. J., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2011). A combined fMRI study of typed spelling and reading. NeuroImage, 55(2), 750–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.042

Math

We using behavioral and neuroimaging methods to understand how mathematics and reading are related to one another, and in those with learning disabilities.

Evans, T. M., Flowers, D. L., Luetje, M. M., Napoliello, E., & Eden, G. F. (2016). Functional neuroanatomy of arithmetic and word reading and its relationship to age. NeuroImage, 143, 304–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.048

Evans, T. M., Flowers, D. L., Napoliello, E. M., Olulade, O. A., & Eden, G. F. (2014). The functional anatomy of single-digit arithmetic in children with developmental dyslexia. NeuroImage, 101, 644–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.028

Math Disability: Dyscalculia

We are using intervention, behavioral, and brain imaging methods to better understand the origins of math learning disabilities (dyscalculia) and to understand why reading and math disability often co-occur together. We hope to gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences in children with deficits in reading and/or math.

Language Experience: Bilingualism

We are studying how learning (or knowing) two languages affects brain structure and function. We also study the effects of bilingualism on reading ability and other cognitive skills such as cognitive control.

Jamal, N. I., Piche, A. W., Napoliello, E. M., Perfetti, C. A., & Eden, G. F. (2012). Neural basis of single-word reading in Spanish-English bilinguals. Human Brain Mapping, 33(1), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21208

Olulade, O. A., Jamal, N. I., Koo, D. S., Perfetti, C. A., LaSasso, C., & Eden, G. F. (2016). Neuroanatomical evidence in support of the bilingual advantage theory. Cerebral Cortex, 26(7), 3196–3204. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhv152

Sensorimotor Systems

We examine how sensorimotor systems develop and how they may be linked to reading and dyslexia.

Turesky, T. K., Turkeltaub, P. E., & Eden, G. F. (2016). An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis study of simple motor movements in older and young adults. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 8(238), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00238

Olulade, O. A., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2013). Abnormal visual motion processing is not a cause of dyslexia. Neuron, 79(1), 180–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.05.002

Sensory Experience: Deafness

We conduct research that examines how sensory experience (e.g. deafness) is related to neuroplastic differences in the brain.

Olulade, O. A., Koo, D. S., LaSasso, C. J., & Eden, G. F. (2014). Neuroanatomical profiles of deafness in the context of native language experience. The Journal of Neuroscience, 34(16), 5613–5620. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3700-13.2014.

Weisberg, J., Koo, D. S., Crain, K. L., & Eden, G. F. (2012). Cortical plasticity for visuospatial processing and object recognition in deaf and hearing signers. NeuroImage, 60(1), 661–672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.031