This literature review provides support for the idea that subtle anatomical and functional deviations in the brain correlate with specific types of reading disorders. It finds evidence that symmetry or reversed asymmetry in the plana temporale may be associated with difficulty in acquiring sound/symbol relationships. Studies are reported to show that two distinct subtypes of dyslexia exist: namely phonological, a lack of auditory awareness, and orthographical, a lack of sight awareness, with phonological processing critical to early reading development and orthographic processing important for developing automaticity of word identification and efficient reading speed. Evidence implying that the inferior parietal area is associated with such higher order processes as word meaning and comprehension is also summarized. Individual sections of the paper address the following topics: structural deviations (the plana temporale), functional implications, hemisphere shifting and the role of the corpus callosum, and reading comprehension. The paper concludes that a greater understanding of the neuroanatomical features underlying reading will lead to more effective remediation. (Contains 19 references.) (DB)