Brain researchers have recently found that six months of intensive remedial reading instruction not only improved children's reading abilities, but improved the white-matter connections in their brains. While the children in the study did not suddenly out-perform the top tier readers in their classes, the increase in their reading abilities after only six months opened up a whole new world of opportunities for them in the future. "It's kind of like taking people with a physical disability and giving them training but then saying they're still not as good as professional athletes," said Dr. Marcel Just, one of the researchers. The other researcher, Dr. Timothy Keller, suggested that the improved connections in the children's brains might signify an improved ability to filter out distracting thoughts, so that they could devote more resources to reading.