Jamie Mitchell

All Publications

• Anatomically distinct regions in the inferior frontal cortex are modulated by task and reading skill. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience Stone, H. L., Mitchell, J. L., Fuentes-Jimenez, M., Tran, J. E., Yeatman, J. D., Yablonski, M. 2025

  Abstract

  Inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is a critical region for reading and language. This part of the cortex is highly heterogeneous in its structural and functional organization and shows high variability across individuals. Despite decades of research, the relationship between specific IFC regions and reading skill remains unclear. To shed light on the function of IFC in reading, we aim to (1) characterize the functional landscape of text-selective responses in IFC, while accounting for interindividual variability; and (2) examine how text-selective regions in the IFC relate to reading proficiency. To this end, children with a wide range of reading ability (N=66; age 7-14 years, 34 female, 32 male) completed functional MRI scans while performing two tasks on text and non-text visual stimuli. Importantly, both tasks do not explicitly require reading, and can be performed on all visual stimuli. This design allows us to tease apart stimulus-driven responses from task-driven responses and examine where in IFC task and stimulus interact. We were able to identify three anatomically-distinct, text-selective clusters of activation in IFC, in the inferior frontal sulcus (IFS), and dorsal and ventral precentral gyrus (PrG). ​​These three regions showed a strong task effect that was highly specific to text. Furthermore, text-selectivity in the IFS and dorsal PrG was associated with reading proficiency, such that better readers showed higher selectivity to text. These findings suggest that text-selective regions in the IFC are sensitive to both stimulus and task, and highlight the importance of this region for proficient reading.Significance statement The inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is a critical region for language processing, yet despite decades of research, its relationship with reading skill remains unclear. In a group of children with a wide range of reading skills, we were able to identify three anatomically distinct text-selective clusters of activation in the IFC. ​​These regions showed a strong task effect that was highly selective to text. Text-selectivity was positively correlated with reading proficiency, such that better readers showed higher selectivity to text, even in tasks that did not require reading. These findings suggest that multiple text-selective regions within IFC are sensitive to both stimulus and task, and highlight the critical role of IFC for reading proficiency.

  View details for DOI 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1767-24.2025

  View details for PubMedID 40127940

• Small or absent Visual Word Form Area is a trait of dyslexia. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology Mitchell, J. L., Yablonski, M., Stone, H. L., Fuentes-Jimenez, M., Takada, M. E., Tang, K. A., Tran, J. E., Chou, C., Yeatman, J. D. 2025

  Abstract

  Understanding the balance between plastic and persistent traits in the dyslexic brain is critical for developing effective interventions. This longitudinal intervention study examines the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) in dyslexic and typical readers, exploring how this key component of the brain's reading circuitry changes with learning. We found that dyslexic readers show significant differences in VWFA presence, size, and tuning properties compared to typical readers. While reading intervention improved reading skills and increased VWFA size, disparities persisted, suggesting that VWFA abnormalities are an enduring trait of dyslexia. Notably, we found that even with sufficient intervention to close the reading skill gap, dyslexic readers are still expected to have smaller VWFAs. Our results reveal intervention-driven long-term neural and behavioral changes, while also elucidating stable differences in the functional architecture of the dyslexic brain. This provides new insights into the potential and limitations of learning-induced plasticity in the human visual cortex.

  View details for DOI 10.1101/2025.01.14.632854

  View details for PubMedID 39868322

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11761755

• Development and validation of a rapid and precise online sentence reading efficiency assessment FRONTIERS IN EDUCATION Yeatman, J. D., Tran, J. E., Burkhardt, A. K., Ma, W., Mitchell, J. L., Yablonski, M., Gijbels, L., Townley-Flores, C., Richie-Halford, A. 2024; 9

  View details for DOI 10.3389/feduc.2024.1494431

  View details for Web of Science ID 001383682800001

• Prevailing Theories of Reading Development and Deafness The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Literacy Connor, C., Greenberg, J. edited by Easterbrooks, S. R., Dostal, H. M. Oxford University Press. 2020

  View details for DOI 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197508268.013.5