CEREBRAL ORGANIZATION OF COMPONENT PROCESSES IN READING

The cerebral organization of word identification processes in reading was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Chang es in fMRI signal intensities were measured in 38 subjects (19 males a nd 19 females) during visual (line judgement), orthographic (letter ca se judgement), phonological (nonword rhyme judgement) and semantic (se mantic category judgement) tasks. A strategy of multiple subtractions was employed in order to validate relationships between structure and function. Orthographic processing made maximum demands on extrastriate sites, phonological processing on a number of frontal and temporal si tes, and lexical-semantic processing was most strongly associated with middle and superior temporal sites. Significant sex differences in th e cerebral organization of reading-related processes were also observe d.