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Liu T, Zhang W, Liu T, Xiao Y, Xue L, Zhang X, Zhao J. Adults at low reading level are sluggish in disengaging spatial attention. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:326-338. [PMID: 37907730 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02809-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
An increasing number of studies show that attentional shifting is a primary contributor during the process of learning to read. However, it remains unclear what is the relationship between attentional shifting and word-reading ability in adult readers whose reading skills have matured. More fundamentally, how attentional shifting affects individuals' reading ability remains poorly understood. To address these issues, we grouped adult readers by the level of Chinese character reading and examined the time course of attentional shifting by setting up multiple stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) in the Posner cue-target paradigm. Based on the phonological mediation hypothesis, we also measured multiple abilities involving phonological processing (i.e., rapid automatic naming and phonological awareness). Results showed that compared with adults at the high reading level, adults at the low reading level showed a selective impairment of attentional disengagement. Rapid automatic naming of Chinese characters played a partially mediating role in the association between attentional shifting and word reading. These results provided evidence for the phonological mediation hypothesis, and suggest that attentional shifting affects word reading by influencing phonological processing in adult Chinese readers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tongxin Liu
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Wenjing Zhang
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Tao Liu
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Ying Xiao
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Licheng Xue
- School of preschool education, Hangzhou Polytechnic, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxian Zhang
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318, Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 311121, China.
- Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
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2
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Ren X, Li J, Liu J, Liu D, Zhao J. Intervention targeting different visual attention span components in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia: a study based on Bundesen's theory of visual attention. ANNALS OF DYSLEXIA 2023; 73:487-509. [PMID: 37422551 DOI: 10.1007/s11881-023-00288-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Within the framework of the theory of visual attention (TVA), the visual attention span (VAS) deficit among individuals with developmental dyslexia has been ascribed to the problems entailed by bottom-up (BotU) and top-down (TopD) attentional processes. The former involves two VAS subcomponents: the visual short-term memory storage and perceptual processing speed; the latter consists of the spatial bias of attentional weight and the inhibitory control. Then, what about the influences of the BotU and TopD components on reading? Are there differences in the roles of the two types of attentional processes in reading? This study addresses these issues by using two types of training tasks separately, corresponding to the BotU and TopD attentional components. Three groups of Chinese children with dyslexia-15 children each in the BotU training, TopD training, and non-trained active control groups were recruited here. Participants completed reading measures and a CombiTVA task which was used to estimate VAS subcomponents, before and after the training procedure. Results showed that BotU training improved both the within-category and between-category VAS subcomponents and sentence reading performance; meanwhile, TopD training enhanced character reading fluency through improving spatial attention capacity. Moreover, benefits on attentional capacities and reading skills in the two training groups were generally maintained three months after the intervention. The present findings revealed diverse patterns in the influences of VAS on reading within the TVA framework, which contributes to enriching the understanding of VAS-reading relation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Ren
- Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Li
- Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jinqiu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Duo Liu
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China.
| | - Jing Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
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Kress S, Neudorf J, Borowsky B, Borowsky R. What's in a game: Video game visual-spatial demand location exhibits a double dissociation with reading speed. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2023; 232:103822. [PMID: 36565581 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This research sought to clarify the nature of the relationship between video game experience, attention, and reading. Previous studies have suggested playing action video games can improve reading ability in children with dyslexia. Other research has linked video game experience with visual-spatial attention, and visual-spatial attention with reading. We hypothesized that the visual-spatial demands of video games may drive relationships with reading through attentional processing. In this experiment we used a hybrid attention/reading task to explore the relationship between video game visual-spatial demands, reading and attention. We also developed novel visual-spatial demand measures using participants' top five played video games for an individual-specific measure of visual demands. Peripheral visual demands in video games were associated with faster reading times, while central visual demands were associated with slower reading times for both phonetic decoding and lexical reading. In addition, video game experience in terms of hours spent playing video games each week interacted with the cueing effect size in the lexical reading condition, with experienced video game players exhibiting a larger cueing effect than participants with less video game experience. These results suggest that exposure to peripheral visual spatial demands in video games may be related to both lexical and sublexical reading processes in hybrid attentional reading tasks such as ours with skilled adult readers, which has implications not only for models of how ventral and dorsal stream reading and visual-spatial attention are integrated, but also for the development of dyslexia diagnostics and remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaylyn Kress
- Department of Psychology & Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Josh Neudorf
- Department of Psychology & Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Braedyn Borowsky
- Department of Psychology & Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Department of Psychology & Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
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4
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Zhang D, Zhou ZL, Xing T, Zhou MY, Wan YM, Chang SC, Wang YL, Qian HH. Intra and inter: Alterations in functional brain resting-state networks in patients with functional constipation. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:957620. [PMID: 35937871 PMCID: PMC9354924 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.957620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Functional constipation (FCon), is a symptom-based functional gastrointestinal disorder without an organic etiology and altering brain structure and function. However, previous studies mainly focused on isolated brain regions involved in brain plasticity. Therefore, little is known about the altered large-scale interaction of brain networks in FCon. Methods For this study, we recruited 20 patients with FCon and 20 healthy controls. We used group independent component analysis to identify resting-state networks (RSNs) and documented intra- and inter-network alterations in the RSNs of the patients with FCon. Results We found 14 independent RSNs. Differences in the intra-networks included decreased activities in the bilateral caudate of RSN 3 (strongly related to emotional and autonomic processes) and decreased activities in the left precuneus of RSN 10 (default mode network). Notably, the patients with FCon exhibited significantly decreased interactive connectivity between RSNs, mostly involving the connections to the visual perception network (RSN 7–9). Conclusion Compared with healthy controls, patients with FCon had extensive brain plastic changes within and across related RSNs. Furthermore, the macroscopic brain alterations in FCon were associated with interoceptive abilities, emotion processing, and sensorimotor control. These insights could therefore lead to the development of new treatment strategies for FCon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Zhang
- Department of Anorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Zai-Long Zhou
- Department of Anorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Ting Xing
- No. 1 Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Mei-Yu Zhou
- No. 1 Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Ye-Ming Wan
- No. 1 Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Shu-Chen Chang
- No. 1 Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Ya-Li Wang
- No. 1 Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Hai-Hua Qian
- Department of Anorectal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Hai-Hua Qian,
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Mancarella M, Antzaka A, Bertoni S, Facoetti A, Lallier M. Enhanced disengagement of auditory attention and phonological skills in action video gamers. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2022.107344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Zhao J, Wang J, Huang C, Liang P. Involvement of the dorsal and ventral attention networks in visual attention span. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:1941-1954. [PMID: 34984762 PMCID: PMC8933248 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual attention span (VAS), which refers to the window size of multielement parallel processing in a short time, plays an important role in higher‐level cognition (e.g., reading) as required by encoding large amounts of information input. However, it is still a matter of debate about the underlying neural mechanism of VAS. In the present study, a modified visual 1‐back task was designed by using nonverbal stimuli and nonverbal responses, in which possible influences of target presence and position were considered to identify more pure VAS processing. A task‐driven functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment was then performed, and 30 healthy adults participated in this study. Results of confirmatory and exploratory analyses consistently revealed that both dorsal attention network (DAN) and ventral attention network (VAN) were significantly activated during this visual simultaneous processing. In particular, more significant activation in the left superior parietal lobule (LSPL), as compared to that in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFGs), suggested a greater involvement of DAN in VAS‐related processing in contrast to VAN. In addition, it was also found that the activation in temporoparietal junctions (TPJs) were suppressed during multielement processing only in the target‐absent condition. The current results suggested the recruitment of LSPL in covert attentional shifts and top‐down control of VAS resources distribution during the rapid visual simultaneous processing, as well as the involvement of bilateral IFGs (especially RIFG) in both VAS processing and inhibitory control. The present findings might bring some enlightenments for diagnosis of the atypicality of attentional disorders and reading difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Junkai Wang
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Huang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Peipeng Liang
- Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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Mihaylova MS, Bocheva NB, Stefanova MD, Genova BZ, Totev TT, Racheva KI, Shtereva KA, Staykova SN. Visual noise effect on reading in three developmental disorders: ASD, ADHD, and DD. AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS 2022; 7:23969415221106119. [PMID: 36382080 PMCID: PMC9620686 DOI: 10.1177/23969415221106119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Developmental Dyslexia (DD) are reported to have more visual problems, oral language difficulties, and diminished reading skills in addition to their different diagnostic features. Moreover, these conditions also have increased internal noise and probably an impaired ability of external noise filtering. The aim of the present study was to compare the reading performance of these groups in the presence of external visual noise which disrupts the automatic reading processes through the degradation of letters. METHODS Sixty-four children and adolescents in four groups, ASD, ADHD, DD, and TD, participated in the study. Two types of stimuli were used - unrelated words and pseudowords. The noise was generated by exchanging a fixed number of pixels between the black symbols and the white background distorting the letters. The task of the participants was to read aloud the words or pseudowords. The reading time for a single letter string, word or pseudoword, was calculated, and the proportion of errors was assessed in order to describe the reading performance. RESULTS The results obtained showed that the reading of unrelated words and pseudowords differs in the separate groups of participants and is affected differently by the added visual noise. In the no-noise condition, the group with TD had the shortest time for reading words and short pseudowords, followed by the group with ASD, while their reading of long pseudowords was slightly slower than that of the ASD group. The noise increase evoked variations in the reading of groups with ASD and ADHD, which differed from the no-noise condition and the control group with TD. The lowest proportion of errors was observed in readers with TD. The reading performance of the DD group was the worst at all noise levels, with the most prolonged reading time and the highest proportion of errors. At the highest noise level, the participants from all groups read the words and pseudowords with similar reading speed and accuracy. CONCLUSIONS In reading words and pseudowords, the ASD, ADHD, and DD groups show difficulties specific for each disorder revealed in a prolonged reading time and a higher proportion of errors. The dissimilarity in reading abilities of the groups with different development is most evident when the accuracy and reading speed are linked together. IMPLICATIONS The use of noise that degrades the letter structure in the present study allowed us to separate the groups with ASD, ADHD, and DD and disclose specifics in the reading process of each disorder. Error type analysis may provide a basis to improve the educational strategies by appropriately structuring the learning process of children with TD, ASD, ADHD, and DD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Slavcheva Mihaylova
- Milena Slavcheva Mihaylova, Institute of
Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 23 Academic Georgi Bonchev Street,
Sofia 1113, Bulgaria.
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8
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Kress S, Neudorf J, Ekstrand C, Borowsky R. Unmasking the effects of orthography, semantics, and phonology on 2AFC visual word perceptual identification. VISUAL COGNITION 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2021.1989099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shaylyn Kress
- Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Josh Neudorf
- Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Chelsea Ekstrand
- Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
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9
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Bertoni S, Franceschini S, Puccio G, Mancarella M, Gori S, Facoetti A. Action Video Games Enhance Attentional Control and Phonological Decoding in Children with Developmental Dyslexia. Brain Sci 2021; 11:171. [PMID: 33572998 PMCID: PMC7911052 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11020171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Reading acquisition is extremely difficult for about 5% of children because they are affected by a heritable neurobiological disorder called developmental dyslexia (DD). Intervention studies can be used to investigate the causal role of neurocognitive deficits in DD. Recently, it has been proposed that action video games (AVGs)-enhancing attentional control-could improve perception and working memory as well as reading skills. In a partial crossover intervention study, we investigated the effect of AVG and non-AVG training on attentional control using a conjunction visual search task in children with DD. We also measured the non-alphanumeric rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological decoding and word reading before and after AVG and non-AVG training. After both video game training sessions no effect was found in non-alphanumeric RAN and in word reading performance. However, after only 12 h of AVG training the attentional control was improved (i.e., the set-size slopes were flatter in visual search) and phonological decoding speed was accelerated. Crucially, attentional control and phonological decoding speed were increased only in DD children whose video game score was highly efficient after the AVG training. We demonstrated that only an efficient AVG training induces a plasticity of the fronto-parietal attentional control linked to a selective phonological decoding improvement in children with DD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Bertoni
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy; (S.F.); (G.P.); (M.M.); (A.F.)
| | - Sandro Franceschini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy; (S.F.); (G.P.); (M.M.); (A.F.)
| | - Giovanna Puccio
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy; (S.F.); (G.P.); (M.M.); (A.F.)
| | - Martina Mancarella
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy; (S.F.); (G.P.); (M.M.); (A.F.)
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simone Gori
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
| | - Andrea Facoetti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy; (S.F.); (G.P.); (M.M.); (A.F.)
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10
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Ekstrand C, Neudorf J, Kress S, Borowsky R. Structural connectivity predicts functional activation during lexical and sublexical reading. Neuroimage 2020; 218:117008. [PMID: 32485306 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A critical question in neuroscience is the extent to which structural connectivity of the brain predicts localization of brain function. Recent research has suggested that anatomical connectivity can predict functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses in several cognitive domains, including face, object, scene, and body processing, and development of word recognition skills (Osher et al., 2016; Saygin et al., 2016). However, this technique has not yet been extended to skilled word reading. Thus, we developed a computational model that relates anatomical connectivity (measured using probabilistic tractography) of individual cortical voxels to fMRI responses of the same voxels during lexical and sublexical reading tasks. Our results showed that the model built from structural connectivity was able to accurately predict functional responses of individual subjects based on their structural connectivity alone. This finding was apparent across the cortex, as well as to specific regions of interest associated with reading, language, and spatial attention. Further, we identified the structural connectivity networks associated with different aspects of skilled reading using connectivity analyses, and showed that interconnectivity between left hemisphere language and right hemisphere attentional areas underlies both lexical and sublexical reading. This work has important implications for understanding how structural connectivity contributes to reading and suggests that there is a relationship between skilled reading and neuroanatomical brain connectivity that future research should continue to explore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea Ekstrand
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5A5
| | - Josh Neudorf
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5A5
| | - Shaylyn Kress
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5A5
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5A5.
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11
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Franceschini S, Lulli M, Bertoni S, Gori S, Angrilli A, Mancarella M, Puccio G, Facoetti A. Caffeine improves text reading and global perception. J Psychopharmacol 2020; 34:315-325. [PMID: 31578918 DOI: 10.1177/0269881119878178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reading is a unique human skill. Several brain networks involved in this complex skill mainly involve the left hemisphere language areas. Nevertheless, nonlinguistic networks found in the right hemisphere also seem to be involved in sentence and text reading. These areas do not deal with phonological information, but are involved in verbal and nonverbal pattern information processing. The right hemisphere is responsible for global processing of a scene, which is needed for developing reading skills. AIMS Caffeine seems to affect global pattern processing specifically. Consequently, our aim was to discover if it could enhance text reading skill. METHODS In two mechanistic studies (n=24 and n=53), we tested several reading skills, global and local perception, alerting, spatial attention and executive functions, as well as rapid automatised naming and phonological memory, using a double-blind, within-subjects, repeated-measures design in typical young adult readers. RESULTS A single dose of 200 mg caffeine improved global processing, without any effect on local information processing, alerting, spatial attention and executive or phonological functions. This improvement in global processing was accompanied by faster text reading speed of meaningful sentences, whereas single word/pseudoword or pseudoword text reading abilities were not affected. These effects of caffeine on reading ability were enhanced by mild sleep deprivation. CONCLUSIONS These findings show that a small quantity of caffeine could improve global processing and text reading skills in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Franceschini
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Matteo Lulli
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences 'Mario Serio', University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Sara Bertoni
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Simone Gori
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Alessandro Angrilli
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Martina Mancarella
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Giovanna Puccio
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Andrea Facoetti
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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12
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Discovering the shared biology of cognitive traits determined by genetic overlap. Neuroimage 2019; 208:116409. [PMID: 31785419 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigating the contribution of biology to human cognition has assumed a bottom-up causal cascade where genes influence brain systems that activate, communicate, and ultimately drive behavior. Yet few studies have directly tested whether cognitive traits with overlapping genetic underpinnings also rely on overlapping brain systems. Here, we report a step-wise exploratory analysis of genetic and functional imaging overlaps among cognitive traits. We used twin-based genetic analyses in the human connectome project (HCP) dataset (N = 486), in which we quantified the heritability of measures of cognitive functions, and tested whether they were driven by common genetic factors using pairwise genetic correlations. Subsequently, we derived activation maps associated with cognitive tasks via functional imaging meta-analysis in BrainMap (N = 4484), and tested whether cognitive traits that shared genetic variation also exhibited overlapping brain activation. Our genetic analysis determined that six cognitive measures (cognitive flexibility, no-go continuous performance, fluid intelligence, processing speed, reading decoding and vocabulary comprehension) were heritable (0.3 < h2 < 0.5), and genetically correlated with at least one other heritable cognitive measure (0.2 < ρg < 0.35). The meta-analysis showed that two genetically-correlated traits, cognitive flexibility and fluid intelligence (ρg = 0.24), also had a significant brain activation overlap (ρperm = 0.29). These findings indicate that fluid intelligence and cognitive flexibility rely on overlapping biological features, both at the neural systems level and at the molecular level. The cross-disciplinary approach we introduce provides a concrete framework for data-driven quantification of biological convergence between genetics, brain function, and behavior in health and disease.
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Neudorf J, Ekstrand C, Kress S, Borowsky R. FMRI of shared-stream priming of lexical identification by object semantics along the ventral visual processing stream. Neuropsychologia 2019; 133:107185. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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14
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Ekstrand C, Neudorf J, Kress S, Borowsky R. How words and space collide: Lexical and sublexical reading are reliant on separable reflexive and voluntary attention regions in hybrid tasks. Cortex 2019; 121:104-116. [PMID: 31561127 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Reading ability requires the coordination of many cognitive processes to be effective, including spatial attention. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) evidence from Ekstrand et al. (2019) suggests that lexical reading is more associated with reflexive attentional orienting regions, whereas sublexical reading is more associated with voluntary attentional orienting regions. The current research sought to further examine the neuroanatomical relationship between reading and attention using a novel experimental design in fMRI. Participants performed four hybrid attentional orienting and reading-aloud tasks, where a reflexive or voluntary spatial cue preceded a lexical or sublexical target. Results indicated that lexical reading resulted in greater activation in the right temporoparietal junction, a reflexive orienting region. Sublexical reading resulted in greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus, left fusiform and inferior temporal gyrus, and right superior parietal lobule and intraparietal sulcus (voluntary orienting regions). Further, we found an interaction between reading and attention in the middle occipital gyrus. This study provides the most direct evidence to date that lexical and sublexical reading recruit differential attentional orienting regions during single-word reading in skilled readers. Implications for models of reading and attention, as well as for strategic remediation of their dysfunction, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea Ekstrand
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Josh Neudorf
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Shaylyn Kress
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Ron Borowsky
- Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
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White AL, Boynton GM, Yeatman JD. The link between reading ability and visual spatial attention across development. Cortex 2019; 121:44-59. [PMID: 31542467 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Interacting with a cluttered and dynamic environment requires making decisions about visual information at relevant locations while ignoring irrelevant locations. Typical adults can do this with covert spatial attention: prioritizing particular visual field locations even without moving the eyes. Deficits of covert spatial attention have been implicated in developmental dyslexia, a specific reading disability. Previous studies of children with dyslexia, however, have been complicated by group differences in overall task ability that are difficult to distinguish from selective spatial attention. Here, we used a single-fixation visual search task to estimate orientation discrimination thresholds with and without an informative spatial cue in a large sample (N = 123) of people ranging in age from 5 to 70 years and with a wide range of reading abilities. We assessed the efficiency of attentional selection via the cueing effect: the difference in log thresholds with and without the spatial cue. Across our whole sample, both absolute thresholds and the cueing effect gradually improved throughout childhood and adolescence. Compared to typical readers, individuals with dyslexia had higher thresholds (worse orientation discrimination) as well as smaller cueing effects (weaker attentional selection). Those differences in dyslexia were especially pronounced prior to age 20, when basic visual function is still maturing. Thus, in line with previous theories, literacy skills are associated with the development of selective spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex L White
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.
| | - Geoffrey M Boynton
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Jason D Yeatman
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
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