Neural instability in the left middle temporal gyrus associated with second language reading difficulties in Chinese children.

Several neuroimaging studies have examined the neural basis of reading impairment, which were primarily based on univariate activation analysis. However, it remains unclear whether and which aspect of the neural representations are different in children with reading impairment. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated this issue in Chinese-English bilingual children with diverse reading abilities. The neural representation was differentiated into representational stability and distinctiveness. The results showed that the difference of representational stability in the left middle temporal gyrus was specific to children with second language reading impairment. Moreover, the representational stability in the left middle temporal gyrus was indeed associated with second language reading ability. In addition, children with second language reading impairment also demonstrated differences of representational distinctiveness in the right inferior temporal gyrus. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the universal and specific mechanisms of reading impairment at different aspects of the neural representation.