Learning to read induces changes in cognitive function, brain organization and structure, especially within the language system. These changes mainly result from the acquisition of the new visual code and its association with the pre-existing, spoken, one. Despite a fair amount of work devoted to the investigation of the relation between these two codes, many issues regarding the nature of this relation remain unsolved. The current Research Topic encourages reviews, original research and opinion articles that focus on the cognitive and/or neural processes underlying the acquisition of written language, the association between spoken and written language as well as the consequences of this association on the function and anatomy of the two language systems. In addition to the comprehension of what happens in expert readers, this topic also covers evidence on the evolution of this phenomenon across ages in both typical and atypical populations. The goal is to provide the readers with an up-to-date view on the issue.
Learning to read induces changes in cognitive function, brain organization and structure, especially within the language system. These changes mainly result from the acquisition of the new visual code and its association with the pre-existing, spoken, one. Despite a fair amount of work devoted to the investigation of the relation between these two codes, many issues regarding the nature of this relation remain unsolved. The current Research Topic encourages reviews, original research and opinion articles that focus on the cognitive and/or neural processes underlying the acquisition of written language, the association between spoken and written language as well as the consequences of this association on the function and anatomy of the two language systems. In addition to the comprehension of what happens in expert readers, this topic also covers evidence on the evolution of this phenomenon across ages in both typical and atypical populations. The goal is to provide the readers with an up-to-date view on the issue.