Reading Achievement in Boys With Non-Syndromic Cleft Palate Only: Relationship to Neuropsychological Skill and Neurocircuitry

Reading achievement and neural activation during a reading task were evaluated among boys with isolated cleft palate only (iCP) in comparison to unaffected controls. Ten boys with iCP and 10 unaffected boys between the ages of 8 and 16years old were assessed. Standardized assessments of intelligence and reading achievement were administered and participants underwent a block-design functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol using non-word rhyming and judgment of line tasks. Among the 10 boys with iCP, reading fluency correlated with phonological awareness and visual memory. Neural activation was increased in regions of the brain associated with a non-fluent/dyslexic reading pattern.