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Reading is the process of deriving meaning from complex symbols. It involves decoding letters and recognizing words, as well as fluency in understanding sentences and larger units of language.
Viewing categories like faces or words elicits unique patterns of responses in high-level visual cortex. Here, the authors show that distributed patterns for faces and words become more distinct during childhood and predict children’s recognition ability.
The connectivity pattern of the left occipitotemporal cortex of 5-year-olds who cannot yet read can predict where the functionally specific 'visual word form area' will form once the children learn to read.
