ABSTRACT
The genesis of written language represents one of the major breakthroughs in the cognitive evolution of the human species. It demonstrates the human brain's remarkable capacity to use novel connections within its genetically given physiological structure to create a novel function. Equally remarkable is the development of reading in the child as an example of how the brain learns an evolutionarily recent cognitive skill through the rearrangement of older neurological structures. The study of reading's evolution, development, and pathology contributes to our understanding of how the brain learns, but also, importantly, informs treatment of reading problems for children who struggle to learn to read.
