Left, the envelopes, i.e. the pointwise maxima and minima, of the spherical contact distributions for our sample of 15 dyslexic subjects and 11 controls. Gyri in dyslexia are clearly wider, having proportionally more white matter far from the surface than in individuals with normal reading ability.
Right, the envelopes of P–P plots of observed spherical contact distributions versus a model distribution. For a given subject, the P–P plot is the locus of points [
Fo(
r) where

for a sphere of radius
R such that its volume equals the subject’s
Vcw. Naturally, the shape of gyral white matter is far from spherical (the latter indicated by the diagonal line). Of greater interest is the fact that dyslexic and control groups remain distinct from each other on this scale. The structural difference between them is primarily one of brain shape rather than brain size