University of California San Francisco Give to UCSF

401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94143

View map Free Event

Presentation:
The Typical and Atypical Reading Brain: How a Neurobiological Framework of Reading Development Can Inform Educational and Clinical Practice

Speaker:
Nadine Gaab, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School

----------

Remote live streaming locations:

  • Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland - OPC Room C
  • ZSFG - Building 5, Room 2A6

----------

Learning objectives:
By the end of this presentation, attendees will have reviewed:

  • The divergent trajectories of brain developmental in individuals with poor and good reading outcome
     
  • The etiological basis for atypical reading development on the genetic, brain and environmental level and their reciprocal interactions
     
  • The potential implications of a multi-deficit model for atypical reading for educational and clinical practice

----------

Abstract:
Various developmental disorders such as developmental dyslexia are diagnosed in early childhood but divergent trajectories of brain development may already be present in preschool or even at birth or prenatally. Here I will present results from our three longitudinal studies which investigate whether observed functional and structural brain differences associated with developmental dyslexia are already present in infants and preschoolers and how they develop over time. We will further introduce a modified multiple deficit model that illustrates reading impairment as an outcome of multiple risks and protective factors interacting at genetic, neural, cognitive, and environmental levels from infancy to adolescence. Understanding the early developmental trajectories of reading, behaviorally and in the brain, will allow for better understanding of the etiological basis of reading impairments and will help inform early identification and remediation practices. Finally, current and potential implications of these findings for contemporary challenges in the field of typical and atypical reading development, as well as for education and clinical practice in general, are discussed.

----------

About the speaker:
Gaab is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital Boston and the Harvard Medical School and a member of the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received a PhD in Psychology from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and did postdoctoral training at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at Boston Children’s and Harvard Medical School in 2007. Her current research within the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience addresses contemporary challenges of clinical practice and education with neuroscientific methods from infancy to adulthood. Her work primarily focuses on auditory, language and music processing in the human brain and its applications for the development of typical and atypical language and literacy skills. The Gaablab utilizes structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as behavioral measurement tools and is currently working on various research questions such as (a) Which brain learns to read best under which circumstances? (b) How do environmental factors influence the brain’s ability to read? (c) Can neuroscience help to improve the early identification of children at risk for dyslexia, and (d) What factors are important for shaping a ‘resilient’ (reading) brain? The Gaablab employs cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs and works closely with over 20 private and public schools within the Greater New England area. Please visit www.bostonchildrens.org/gaablab for more info.

----------

Grand Rounds presentations are for educational purposes and intended for a professional audience only.

To qualify for CME credit for this event, participants must (1) attend in-person or at one of the approved live streaming locations listed above; and (2) sign in at their location.

Event Details

  • Shawna Mitchell Sisler
  • deborah johnson

2 people are interested in this event