Disruption of dynamic functional connectivity in children with developmental dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is the most common learning disorder. The alternations of intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) have been frequently reported to be associated with DD. However, previous research has predominately focused on static FC features. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a sliding time window approach, this study examined dynamic FC during rest in 22 children with DD and 38 age-matched controls. Results showed that compared to controls, dyslexic children exhibited increased temporal variability of FC in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Moreover, the higher dynamics of FC was correlated with poorer reading performance, confirming the role of atypical dynamic FC in DD. We found that the altered dynamic FC in dyslexics was associated with problematic regional activity and functional-structural coupling. This study for the first time reveals the aberrant dynamic FC in a pivotal language region, providing novel insights into the neural signature of DD.