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Latest neuroimages have allowed researcher to believe that the left lateralized cortex of the brain is what linked to reading abilities. There have been correlations between specific brain regions on the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex during different reading activities. The three regions of the cortex that are been the most active during reading are the following: the occipito-parietal, the temporo-parietal, and the inferior frontal.

The occipito-parietal region, or more specifically fusiform gyrus portion of the the region, is where the brains VWFA is located. VWFA, which stands for visual word form area, is the brain's ability to visualize what is being read. This area of the brain tends to be activated when words are being written as opposed to being read, and is under active in readers who have been diagnosed with dyslexia.

The temporo- parietal region is believed to be heavily involved in decoding skills. This area of the brain is very active when readers are presented with unfamiliar words that require phonological and phonemic skills to decode. This area of the brain tends to be overly active is readers who have been diagnosed with dyslexia.

The inferior frontal region is a much more complex region of the brain, and it has not been linked to one specific area of reading. It is believed to be responsible for most comprehension and processing skills, as well as silent reading and verbal working memory. This area of the brain tends to be more active in readers who have been diagnosed with dyslexia.

In addition to regions on the cortex, which is considered gray matter on fMRI's, there are several white matter fasciculus that are also active during different reading activities. These three regions are what connects the three respected cortex regions as the brain reads, thus it is responsible for the brains cross-model integration involved in reading. Three connective fasciculus that are prominently active during reading are the following: the left arcuate faciculus, the left inferior longitudinal faciculus, and the superior longitudinal fasciculus. All three areas are found to be weaker in readers diagnosed with dyslexia.

The cerebellum is also believed to play an important role in reading. This portion of the brains role in reading is slightly less clear; however, it has been connected to the brains ability to read with procedure and in a timely manner.