Greater audiovisual integration with executive functions networks following a visual rhythmic reading training in children with reading difficulties: An fMRI study

Reading difficulty (RD; dyslexia) is a developmental condition with neurological origins and persistent academic consequences. Children with RD often show deficits in audiovisual integration (AVI) and executive functions. Visual rhythmic reading training (RRT) has been associated with improvements in these domains, but it remains unclear whether such effects generalize to the resting-state brain activity. English-speaking children aged 8-12 years, including typical readers (TRs) and children with RD, were randomly assigned to an 8-week visual RRT or control math training group. Reading assessments and resting-state functional MRI data were collected before and after the intervention. Functional connectivity (FC) analyses examined AVI and its interaction with frontoparietal-cingulo-opercular (FP-CO) cognitive control networks during rest. Following RRT, children with RD showed significant improvements in reading fluency. The RRT group also demonstrated greater changes in AVI, which were associated with increased FC between FP-CO networks and sensory regions during the resting state. RRT improves reading performance and promotes enhanced integration between sensory and executive networks in children with RD, even in the absence of task demands. These findings support the role of RRT in fostering domain-general neuroplasticity beyond reading-specific contexts.