# Functional connectivity of sensory and executive function networks during a story listening task is related to parent/child interaction during joint reading: a functional MRI diffusion map study

## TL;DR

This study shows that brain activity patterns during story listening can predict the quality of parent-child interaction during shared reading.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel algorithmic approach using fMRI diffusion maps to quantify parent-child interaction during reading.

## Key findings

- Brain functional connectivity patterns during story listening correlate with parent-child interaction quality.
- A diffusion maps algorithm can reliably predict shared reading quality based on fMRI data.
- This method could be used to assess parent-child interaction in various contexts.

## Abstract

The quality of parent–child interaction during shared reading (“shared reading quality”) is strongly linked to cognitive and relational benefits. However, the relationship between shared reading quality and activation and synchronization of reading-related brain networks has not yet been characterized. The current study involved 22 4-year-old girls who completed functional MRI including a validated stories listening task, and a primary parent. Prior to MRI, video observation of the parent and child reading together was conducted and later coded using a standardized scoring form quantifying parent–child verbal and nonverbal interaction. Behavioral measures included demographics and a maternal depression scale. To achieve this goal, fMRI stories-listening data was utilized to create a diffusion maps algorithm and then to classify the level of parent–child interaction during the shared reading observation. The algorithm clustered children with higher parent–child engagement scores with fMRI diffusion patterns in regions of the brain known to support reading. This study establishes proof-of-concept that applying this diffusion maps algorithm to brain functional connectivity data can reliably predict parent–child interaction during shared book reading. It also suggests that an algorithmic approach may be a novel, data-driven means to quantify parent–child interaction in different contexts (e.g., reading, play) and populations.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11682-025-01037-2.