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    "ocrText": "03/05/98 THU 16:54 FAX 301 402 1104\nOD/NICHD\n002\n1\nNIH Research Sheds Light on Early Brain Development\nResearchers Learn More About Normal and Early Brain Development\nResearchers already know that laying the groundwork for a healthy brain starts early and\nis a very complicated process. One trillion nerve cells must make about 100 trillion\nconnections. These events have been compared to establishing telephone connections,\nfirst between cities and then to the proper address. The brain runs test patterns to see\nwhich connections are correct -- these are strengthened. Connections which are incorrect\nare eliminated.\nNow researchers are learning how the axons of the nerve cells are able to grow along\nappropriate pathways and make these orderly connections. Recently, they identified a\nchemical substance in the brain that acts as a \"guidance label\" for the neuronal axons.\nThis chemical acts as a repellent, discouraging axons from making the wrong\nconnections. Conversely, investigators assume that chemicals exist that also act to attract\nand guide the neuronal axons to their proper connections.\nResearchers Learn More About Reading, Learning, and Brain Function\nResearchers have pioneered a brain-mapping procedure, called functional magnetic\nresonance imaging (fMRI), which allows them to see different patterns in brain activity.\nThe non-invasive technology provides images of internal brain structures in fine\nresolution, while highlighting which parts of the brain are most active at a specific time.\nThe fMRI works by showing differences between blood carrying oxygen and blood that\nis depleted of oxygen. Because active areas of the brain use oxygen-rich blood, the\ntechnology has literally unlocked the windows to the brain, allowing researchers to\n1) identify which parts are actively involved in learning and reading and which ones may\nbe implicated in such disorders as dyslexia; and 2) study how interventions may help\novercome or prevent these disabilities by influencing brain function and new brain\npathways.\nUsing these advanced technologies, researchers have just identified the neural pathway\nthat is responsible for causing dyslexia, a condition that causes great difficulty in reading,\nand is estimated to affect 80 percent of all individuals labeled \"learning-disabled.\" This\nnewest study clearly demonstrates which systems in the brain are critical for reading\nfunction, and that brains of dyslexic subjects show very little activity in areas known to\nbe important in linking written forms of words to their phonological components. Thus,\nthis research provides the first neurologic evidence that persons with dyslexia lack\nphonologic awareness--or the ability to break words down into their component sounds--a\ncritical step in learning to read. It also provides researchers and clinicians with an\nimportant neurological benchmark that could, in the future, help them identify children\nwith dyslexia before the cycle of school failure is permanently established."
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