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Conforti S, Marinelli CV, Zoccolotti P, Martelli M. The metrics of reading speed: understanding developmental dyslexia. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4109. [PMID: 38374129 PMCID: PMC10876942 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52330-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
We compared reading words and pseudo-words presented in single displays (as typical of psycholinguistic research) with stimuli presented in multiple displays (as typical of real-life conditions and clinical testing) under controlled conditions. Italian sixth-grade children with and without a reading deficit showed an advantage in reading times for multiple over single displays. This finding was partly ascribed to the capacity to overlap the non-decisional component of the response, an effect present in control readers as well as children with dyslexia. Furthermore, there were several indications in the data that the requirement to read sequentially taxes performance by augmenting the relative impact of the experimental manipulations used. This effect was present in both groups of children, but proportionally stronger in children with dyslexia. The study contributes to filling the gap between single and multiple displays, a condition more like real-life situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Conforti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Valeria Marinelli
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Humanities, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
| | - Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Tuscany Rehabilitation Clinic, Montevarchi, Italy
| | - Marialuisa Martelli
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Tuscany Rehabilitation Clinic, Montevarchi, Italy
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2
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Werth R. Dyslexia Due to Visual Impairments. Biomedicines 2023; 11:2559. [PMID: 37760998 PMCID: PMC10526907 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11092559] [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: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Reading involves many different abilities that are necessary or sufficient conditions for fluent and flawless reading. The absence of one necessary or of all sufficient conditions is a cause of dyslexia. The present study investigates whether too short fixation times and an impaired ability to recognize a string of letters simultaneously are causes of dyslexia. The frequency and types of reading mistakes were investigated in a tachistoscopic pseudoword experiment with 100 children with dyslexia to test the impact of too short fixation times and the attempts of children with dyslexia to recognize more letters simultaneously than they can when reading pseudowords. The experiment demonstrates that all types of reading mistakes disappear when the fixation time increases and/or the number of letters that the children try to recognize simultaneously is reduced. The results cannot be interpreted as being due to altered visual crowding, impaired attention, or impaired phonological awareness, but can be regarded as an effect of impaired temporal summation and a dysfunction in the ventral stream of the visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Werth
- Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Haydnstr. 5, D-80336 München, Germany
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3
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Werth R. Dyslexia: Causes and Concomitant Impairments. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13030472. [PMID: 36979282 PMCID: PMC10046374 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13030472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, theories have been presented to explain the nature of dyslexia, but the causes of dyslexia remained unclear. Although the investigation of the causes of dyslexia presupposes a clear understanding of the concept of cause, such an understanding is missing. The present paper proposes the absence of at least one necessary condition or the absence of all sufficient conditions as causes for impaired reading. The causes of impaired reading include: an incorrect fixation location, too short a fixation time, the attempt to recognize too many letters simultaneously, too large saccade amplitudes, and too short verbal reaction times. It is assumed that a longer required fixation time in dyslexic readers results from a functional impairment of areas V1, V2, and V3 that require more time to complete temporal summation. These areas and areas that receive input from them, such as the fusiform gyrus, are assumed to be impaired in their ability to simultaneously process a string of letters. When these impairments are compensated by a new reading strategy, reading ability improves immediately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Werth
- Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Haydnstr. 5, D-80336 München, Germany
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4
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Zoccolotti P, De Luca M, Marinelli CV, Spinelli D. Testing the Specificity of Predictors of Reading, Spelling and Maths: A New Model of the Association Among Learning Skills Based on Competence, Performance and Acquisition. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:573998. [PMID: 33364927 PMCID: PMC7750359 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.573998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In a previous study (Zoccolotti et al., 2020) we examined reading, spelling, and maths skills in an unselected group of 129 Italian children attending fifth grade by testing various cognitive predictors; results showed a high degree of predictors' selectivity for each of these three behaviors. In the present study, we focused on the specificity of the predictors by performing cross-analyses on the same dataset; i.e., we predicted spelling and maths skills based on reading predictors, reading based on maths predictors and so on. Results indicated that some predictors, such as the Orthographic Decision and the Arithmetic Facts tests, predicted reading, spelling and maths skills in similar ways, while others predicted different behaviors but only for a specific parameter, such as fluency but not accuracy (as in the case of RAN), and still others were specific for a single behavior (e.g., Visual-auditory Pseudo-word Matching test predicted only spelling skills). To interpret these results, we propose a novel model of learning skills separately considering factors in terms of competence, performance and acquisition (automatization). Reading, spelling and calculation skills would depend on the development of discrete and different abstract competences (accounting for the partial dissociations among learning disorders reported in the literature). By contrast, overlap among behaviors would be accounted for by defective acquisition in automatized responses to individual "instances"; this latter skill is item specific but domain independent. Finally, performance factors implied in task's characteristics (such as time pressure) may contribute to the partial association among learning skills. It is proposed that this new model may provide a useful base for interpreting the diffuse presence of comorbidities among learning disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Developmental Dyslexia Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria De Luca
- Developmental Dyslexia Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Valeria Marinelli
- Lab of Applied Psychology and Intervention, Department of History, Society and Human Studies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | - Donatella Spinelli
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, Foro Italico University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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5
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Abstract
Wybrow & Hanley (2015) reported that proportions of phonological and surface dyslexics change depending on how control groups are selected. This observation questions the appropriateness of the reading-level match design for establishing causality in cognitive studies of reading. Here, I focus on three features: (1) the lack of an explicit definition of the reading-level concept; (2) the metric problems associated with using this design; and (3) the ambiguity of the delay-deviance contrast in interpreting reading deficits. I also delineate alternative methodological features that could effectively inform developmental designs. Thus, I argue that (a) control variables should be as independent of the target-dependent measure as possible; (b) they should be shaped within the theoretical aims of the study and be explicitly considered in the interpretation of findings; and, (c) conditions of interest should be viewed along with critically associated conditions using approaches that allow predicting the size of the expected deficit..
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Institute for Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC - CNR), Rome, Italy
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6
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Zoccolotti P, De Luca M, Marinelli CV, Spinelli D. Predicting individual differences in reading, spelling and maths in a sample of typically developing children: A study in the perspective of comorbidity. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231937. [PMID: 32352985 PMCID: PMC7192483 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined reading, spelling, and mathematical skills in an unselected group of 129 Italian fifth graders by testing various cognitive predictors for each behaviour. As dependent variables, we measured performance in behaviours with a clear functional value in everyday life, such as reading a text, spelling under dictation and doing mental and written computations. As predictors, we selected cognitive dimensions having an explicit relation with the target behaviour (called proximal predictors), and prepared various tests in order to select which task had the best predictive power on each behaviour. The aim was to develop a model of proximal predictors of reading (speed and accuracy), spelling (accuracy) and maths (speed and accuracy) characterized by efficacy also in comparison to the prediction based on general cognitive factors (i.e., short-term memory, phonemic verbal fluency, visual perceptual speed, and non-verbal intelligence) and parsimony, pinpointing the role of both common and unique predictors as envisaged in the general perspective of co-morbidity. With one exception (reading accuracy), the proximal predictors models (based on communality analyses) explained a sizeable amount of variance, ranging from 27.5% in the case of calculation (accuracy) to 48.7% of reading (fluency). Models based on general cognitive factors also accounted for some variance (ranging from 6.5% in the case of spelling to 19.5% in the case of reading fluency) but this was appreciably less than that explained by models based on the hypothesized proximal predictors. In general, results confirmed the efficacy of proximal models in predicting reading, spelling and maths although they offered only limited support for common predictors across different learning skills; namely, performance in the Orthographic Decision test entered as a predictor of both reading and spelling indicating that a single orthographic lexicon may account for performance in reading and spelling. Possible lines of research to expand on this approach are illustrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria De Luca
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Valeria Marinelli
- Laboratory of Applied Psychology and Intervention, Department of History, Society and Human Studies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | - Donatella Spinelli
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, Foro Italico University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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7
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Marinelli CV, Zoccolotti P, Romani C. The ability to learn new written words is modulated by language orthographic consistency. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228129. [PMID: 32053616 PMCID: PMC7018089 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION It is well known that a difficulty in forming lexical representations is a strong predictor of reading and spelling difficulties even after controlling for the effects of other cognitive skills. Our study had two main interrelated aims. First, we wanted to examine whether the ability to learn new written words (lexical learning) varies as a function of the orthographic consistency of the language of the learner. Second, we wanted to evaluate the cognitive abilities involved in orthographic lexical learning and whether they differed as a function of language consistency. METHOD 163 Italian children and 128 English children performed a lexical learning task as well as tasks assessing several cognitive skills potentially related to the ability to establish orthographic representations. RESULTS We found that children learning an orthographic inconsistent orthography (English) were better able to learn novel written words presented in association with pictures than children learning a consistent orthography (Italian). This was true for both younger and older primary school children and also when children were matched for school grade. Lexical learning may be better in English children because the many irregularities of this language promote storing in memory whole-word representations and processing larger orthographic units. In Italian, instead, reading can be accomplished successfully on the basis of grapheme-phoneme conversion rules and on processing smaller orthographic units. This interpretation was supported by the pattern of cognitive skills associated with lexical learning skills in the two languages. Variations in lexical learning were explained by spatial visual memory and phonological awareness tasks in both languages, but phonological STM explained further variance in Italian, while a task tapping visuo-attentional capacity explained further variance in English. CONCLUSION Learning a language with inconsistent orthography is associated with better lexical learning skills in children at different stages of primary school; the pattern of cognitive skills associated with lexical learning skills is also partially modulated by orthographic consistency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Valeria Marinelli
- Department of History, Lab. of Applied Psychology and Intervention, Society and Human Studies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
- ISTC Institute for Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome, Italy
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8
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Harrison AG, Stewart M. Diagnostic implications of the double deficit model for young adolescents with dyslexia. DYSLEXIA (CHICHESTER, ENGLAND) 2019; 25:345-359. [PMID: 31697024 DOI: 10.1002/dys.1638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Revised: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Considerable support exists for both the phonological core deficit and the naming speed deficit models of dyslexia. The double deficit model proposed that many students with dyslexia might also be impaired in both underlying processes. Employing either performance thresholds (i.e., scores below the 16th or 25th percentile) or k-means clustering as classification methods, the current study investigated whether 154 young adolescents with dyslexia could be categorized into subtypes according to the presence or absence of phonological deficits alone, naming speed deficits alone, or a combination of the two and whether group composition changed depending on classification method. Results support the existence of both single and double deficit groups and confirm that those with both deficits are the most severely impaired across multiple measures. Contrary to previous research, most adolescents were classified as either naming speed only (about a third of the group) or double deficit when defining impairment using performance thresholds to classify groups. This may suggest that although early phonological deficits are amenable to remediation, identification of language symbols fails to become automatized in most individuals with dyslexia and may require more targeted intervention. Classification differences reported in the literature may depend on age and methods employed for classification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyson G Harrison
- Regional Assessment and Resource Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew Stewart
- Regional Assessment and Resource Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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9
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Gangl M, Moll K, Banfi C, Huber S, Schulte-Körne G, Landerl K. Reading strategies of good and poor readers of German with different spelling abilities. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 174:150-169. [PMID: 29957357 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Reading and spelling abilities are thought to be highly correlated during development, and orthographic knowledge is assumed to underpin both literacy skills. Interestingly, recent studies showed that reading and spelling skills can also dissociate. The current study investigated whether spelling skills (indicating orthographic knowledge) are associated with the application of orthographic strategies during reading. We examined eye movements of 137 third- and fourth-graders who were either good or poor readers with or without a spelling deficit: 43 children with typical reading and spelling skills, 28 with isolated spelling deficits, 28 with isolated reading deficits, and 38 with combined reading and spelling deficits. Although we expected to find reduced reliance on orthographic reading processes among poor spellers, this was evident for the group with combined deficits only. Both isolated deficit groups applied sublexical and lexical processes in a similar amount to typically developing children. Our findings suggest that reading rests on orthographic strategies even if lexical representations are poor as indicated by a deficit in spelling skills. Findings also show that dysfluent reading does not result only from overreliance on decoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Gangl
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Kristina Moll
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Chiara Banfi
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Stefan Huber
- Knowledge Media Research Center, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gerd Schulte-Körne
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Karin Landerl
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria.
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10
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Abstract
The study examined whether developmental deficits in reading and numerical skills could be expressed in terms of global factors by reference to the rate and amount (RAM) and difference engine (DEM) models. From a sample of 325 fifth grade children, we identified 5 children with dyslexia, 16 with dyscalculia, 7 with a “mixed pattern,” and 49 control children. Children were asked to read aloud words presented individually that varied for frequency and length and to respond (either vocally or manually) to a series of simple number tasks (addition, subtraction, number reading, and number comparisons). Reaction times were measured. Results indicated that the deficit of children with dyscalculia and children with a mixed pattern on numerical tasks could be explained by a single global factor, similarly to the reading deficit shown by children with dyslexia. As predicted by the DEM, increases in task difficulty were accompanied by a corresponding increase in inter-individual variability for both the reading and numerical tasks. These relationships were constant across the four groups of children but differed in terms of slope and intercept on the x-axis, indicating that two different general rules underlie performance in reading and numerical skills. The study shows for the first time that, as previously shown for reading, also numerical performance can be explained with reference to a global factor. The advantage of this approach is that it takes into account the over-additivity effect, i.e., the presence of larger group differences in the case of more difficult conditions over and above the characteristics of the experimental conditions. It is concluded that reference to models such as the RAM and DEM can be useful in delineating the characteristics of the dyscalculic deficit as well as in the description of co-morbid disturbances, as in the case of dyslexia and dyscalculia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria Di Filippo
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, Niccolò Cusano University, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Gloria Di Filippo, Pierluigi Zoccolotti,
| | - Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Neuropsychological Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Gloria Di Filippo, Pierluigi Zoccolotti,
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11
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De Luca M, Marinelli CV, Spinelli D, Zoccolotti P. Slowing in reading and picture naming: the effects of aging and developmental dyslexia. Exp Brain Res 2017; 235:3093-3109. [PMID: 28744622 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-017-5041-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We examined the slowing in vocal reaction times shown by dyslexic (compared to control) children with that of older (compared to younger) adults using an approach focusing on the detection of global, non-task-specific components. To address this aim, data were analyzed with reference to the difference engine (DEM) and rate and amount (RAM) models. In Experiment 1, typically developing children, children with dyslexia (both attending sixth grade), younger adults and older adults read words and non-words and named pictures. In Experiment 2, word and picture conditions were presented to dyslexic and control children attending eighth grade. In both experiments, dyslexic children were delayed in reading conditions, while they were unimpaired in naming pictures (a finding which indicates spared access to the phonological lexicon). The reading difficulty was well accounted for by a single multiplicative factor while only the residual effect of length (but not frequency and lexicality) was present after controlling for over-additivity using a linear mixed effects model with random slopes on critical variables. Older adults were slower than younger adults across reading and naming conditions. This deficit was well described by a single multiplicative factor. Thus, while slowing of information processing is limited to orthographic stimuli in dyslexic children, it cuts across verbal tasks in older adults. Overall, speed differences in groups such as dyslexic children and older adults can be effectively described with reference to deficits in domains encompassing a variety of experimental conditions rather than deficits in single specific task/conditions. The DEM and RAM prove effective in teasing out global vs. specific components of performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria De Luca
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Valeria Marinelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Laboratory of Applied Psychology and Intervention "DREAM", Department of History Society and Human Studies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | - Donatella Spinelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Movement Sciences and Health, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Rome, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00176, Rome, Italy.
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12
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Reading and lexical-decision tasks generate different patterns of individual variability as a function of condition difficulty. Psychon Bull Rev 2017; 25:1161-1169. [DOI: 10.3758/s13423-017-1335-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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13
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Elhassan Z, Crewther SG, Bavin EL. The Contribution of Phonological Awareness to Reading Fluency and Its Individual Sub-skills in Readers Aged 9- to 12-years. Front Psychol 2017; 8:533. [PMID: 28443048 PMCID: PMC5387103 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Research examining phonological awareness (PA) contributions to reading in established readers of different skill levels is limited. The current study examined the contribution of PA to phonological decoding, visual word recognition, reading rate, and reading comprehension in 124 fourth to sixth grade children (aged 9-12 years). On the basis of scores on the FastaReada measure of reading fluency participants were allocated to one of three reading ability categories: dysfluent (n = 47), moderate (n = 38) and fluent (n = 39). For the dysfluent group, PA contributed significantly to all reading measures except rate, but in the moderate group only to phonological decoding. PA did not influence performances on any of the reading measures examined for the fluent reader group. The results support the notion that fluency is characterized by a shift from conscious decoding to rapid and accurate visual recognition of words. Although PA may be influential in reading development, the results of the current study show that it is not sufficient for fluent reading.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sheila G. Crewther
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, BundooraVIC, Australia
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14
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Marinelli CV, Romani C, Burani C, McGowan VA, Zoccolotti P. Costs and Benefits of Orthographic Inconsistency in Reading: Evidence from a Cross-Linguistic Comparison. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0157457. [PMID: 27355364 PMCID: PMC4927093 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We compared reading acquisition in English and Italian children up to late primary school analyzing RTs and errors as a function of various psycholinguistic variables and changes due to experience. Our results show that reading becomes progressively more reliant on larger processing units with age, but that this is modulated by consistency of the language. In English, an inconsistent orthography, reliance on larger units occurs earlier on and it is demonstrated by faster RTs, a stronger effect of lexical variables and lack of length effect (by fifth grade). However, not all English children are able to master this mode of processing yielding larger inter-individual variability. In Italian, a consistent orthography, reliance on larger units occurs later and it is less pronounced. This is demonstrated by larger length effects which remain significant even in older children and by larger effects of a global factor (related to speed of orthographic decoding) explaining changes of performance across ages. Our results show the importance of considering not only overall performance, but inter-individual variability and variability between conditions when interpreting cross-linguistic differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Valeria Marinelli
- Lab of Applied Psychology and Intervention, Department of History Society and Human Studies, University of Salento, Salento, Italy
- Neuropsychological Research Centre, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Cristina Burani
- ISTC Institute for Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Neuropsychological Research Centre, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
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15
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Zoccolotti P, De Luca M, Spinelli D. Discrete versus multiple word displays: a re-analysis of studies comparing dyslexic and typically developing children. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1530. [PMID: 26500588 PMCID: PMC4595781 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The study examines whether impairments in reading a text can be explained by a deficit in word decoding or an additional deficit in the processes governing the integration of reading subcomponents (including eye movement programming and pronunciation) should also be postulated. We report a re-analysis of data from eleven previous experiments conducted in our lab where the reading performance on single, discrete word displays as well multiple displays (texts, and in few cases also word lists) was investigated in groups of dyslexic children and typically developing readers. The analysis focuses on measures of time and not accuracy. Across experiments, dyslexic children are slower and more variable than typically developing readers in reading texts as well as vocal reaction time (RTs) to singly presented words; the dis-homogeneity in variability between groups points to the inappropriateness of standard measures of size effect (such as Cohen’s d), and suggests the use of the ratio between groups’ performance. The mean ratio for text reading is 1.95 across experiments. Mean ratio for vocal RTs for singly presented words is considerably smaller (1.52). Furthermore, this latter value is probably an overestimation as considering total reading times (i.e., a measure including also the pronunciation component) considerably reduces the group difference in vocal RTs (1.19 according to Martelli et al., 2014). The ratio difference between single and multiple displays does not depend upon the presence of a semantic context in the case of texts as large ratios are also observed with lists of unrelated words (though studies testing this aspect were few). We conclude that, if care is taken in using appropriate comparisons, the deficit in reading texts or lists of words is appreciably greater than that revealed with discrete word presentations. Thus, reading multiple stimuli present a specific, additional challenge to dyslexic children indicating that models of reading should incorporate this aspect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy ; Neuropsychology Unit, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico - Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
| | - Maria De Luca
- Neuropsychology Unit, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico - Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
| | - Donatella Spinelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico - Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy ; Department of Human Movement Sciences and Health, University of Rome "Foro Italico" Rome, Italy
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17
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Zamani MH, Fatemi R, Karimi S. Effects of Feedback With Different Frequency on Throwing Skill Learning in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to Normal Children. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH 2015. [DOI: 10.17795/intjsh-23760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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18
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Marinelli CV, Traficante D, Zoccolotti P. Does pronounceability modulate the letter string deficit of children with dyslexia? A study with the rate and amount model. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1353. [PMID: 25520680 PMCID: PMC4251298 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2014] [Accepted: 10/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The locus of the deficit of children with dyslexia in dealing with strings of letters may be a deficit at a pre-lexical graphemic level or an inability to bind orthographic and phonological information. We evaluate these alternative hypotheses in two experiments by examining the role of stimulus pronounceability in a lexical decision task (LDT) and in a forced-choice letter discrimination task (Reicher-Wheeler paradigm). Seventeen fourth grade children with dyslexia and 24 peer control readers participated to two experiments. In the LDT children were presented with high-, low-frequency words, pronounceable pseudowords (such as DASU) and unpronounceable non-words (such as RNGM) of 4-, 5-, or 6- letters. No sign of group by pronounceability interaction was found when over-additivity was taken into account. Children with dyslexia were impaired when they had to process strings, not only of pronounceable stimuli but also of unpronounceable stimuli, a deficit well accounted for by a single global factor. Complementary results were obtained with the Reicher-Wheeler paradigm: both groups of children gained in accuracy in letter discrimination in the context of pronounceable primes (words and pseudowords) compared to unpronounceable primes (non-words). No global factor was detected in this task which requires the discrimination between a target letter and a competitor but does not involve simultaneous letter string processing. Overall, children with dyslexia show a selective difficulty in simultaneously processing a letter string as a whole, independent of its pronounceability; however, when the task involves isolated letter processing, also these children can make use of the ortho-phono-tactic information derived from a previously seen letter string. This pattern of findings is in keeping with the idea that an impairment in pre-lexical graphemic analysis may be a core deficit in developmental dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniela Traficante
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan Milan, Italy ; NeuroMI - Milan Center for Neuroscience Milan, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Neuropsychology Research Centre, IRCCS Santa Lucia Rome, Italy ; Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy
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19
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Zoccolotti P, De Luca M, Marinelli CV, Spinelli D. Modeling individual differences in text reading fluency: a different pattern of predictors for typically developing and dyslexic readers. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1374. [PMID: 25477856 PMCID: PMC4235379 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This study was aimed at predicting individual differences in text reading fluency. The basic proposal included two factors, i.e., the ability to decode letter strings (measured by discrete pseudo-word reading) and integration of the various sub-components involved in reading (measured by Rapid Automatized Naming, RAN). Subsequently, a third factor was added to the model, i.e., naming of discrete digits. In order to use homogeneous measures, all contributing variables considered the entire processing of the item, including pronunciation time. The model, which was based on commonality analysis, was applied to data from a group of 43 typically developing readers (11- to 13-year-olds) and a group of 25 chronologically matched dyslexic children. In typically developing readers, both orthographic decoding and integration of reading sub-components contributed significantly to the overall prediction of text reading fluency. The model prediction was higher (from ca. 37 to 52% of the explained variance) when we included the naming of discrete digits variable, which had a suppressive effect on pseudo-word reading. In the dyslexic readers, the variance explained by the two-factor model was high (69%) and did not change when the third factor was added. The lack of a suppression effect was likely due to the prominent individual differences in poor orthographic decoding of the dyslexic children. Analyses on data from both groups of children were replicated by using patches of colors as stimuli (both in the RAN task and in the discrete naming task) obtaining similar results. We conclude that it is possible to predict much of the variance in text-reading fluency using basic processes, such as orthographic decoding and integration of reading sub-components, even without taking into consideration higher-order linguistic factors such as lexical, semantic and contextual abilities. The approach validity of using proximal vs. distal causes to predict reading fluency is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierluigi Zoccolotti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy ; Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
| | - Maria De Luca
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
| | | | - Donatella Spinelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy ; Department of Human Movement Sciences and Health, University of Rome "Foro Italico" Rome, Italy
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20
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Bogon J, Finke K, Stenneken P. TVA-based assessment of visual attentional functions in developmental dyslexia. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1172. [PMID: 25360129 PMCID: PMC4199262 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate whether an impairment of visual attentional functions constitutes an additional or even an isolated deficit of developmental dyslexia (DD). Especially performance in tasks that require the processing of multiple visual elements in parallel has been reported to be impaired in DD. We review studies that used parameter-based assessment for identifying and quantifying impaired aspect(s) of visual attention that underlie this multi-element processing deficit in DD. These studies used the mathematical framework provided by the "theory of visual attention" (Bundesen, 1990) to derive quantitative measures of general attentional resources and attentional weighting aspects on the basis of behavioral performance in whole- and partial-report tasks. Based on parameter estimates in children and adults with DD, the reviewed studies support a slowed perceptual processing speed as an underlying primary deficit in DD. Moreover, a reduction in visual short term memory storage capacity seems to present a modulating component, contributing to difficulties in written language processing. Furthermore, comparing the spatial distributions of attentional weights in children and adults suggests that having limited reading and writing skills might impair the development of a slight leftward bias, that is typical for unimpaired adult readers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Bogon
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg Regensburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Finke
- Department of Psychology, General and Experimental Psychology/Neuro-Cognitive Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich, Germany
| | - Prisca Stenneken
- Department of Speech and Language Pathology, University of Cologne Cologne, Germany
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21
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Hautala J, Parviainen T. Gaze position reveals impaired attentional shift during visual word recognition in dysfluent readers. PLoS One 2014; 9:e108937. [PMID: 25268909 PMCID: PMC4182581 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2014] [Accepted: 09/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Effects reflecting serial within-word processing are frequently found in pseudo- and non-word recognition tasks not only among fluent, but especially among dyslexic readers. However, the time course and locus of these serial within-word processing effects in the cognitive hierarchy (i.e., orthographic, phonological, lexical) have remained elusive. We studied whether a subject's eye movements during a lexical decision task would provide information about the temporal dynamics of serial within-word processing. We assumed that if there is serial within-word processing proceeding from left to right, items with informative beginnings would attract the gaze position and (micro-)saccadic eye movements earlier in time relative to those with informative endings. In addition, we compared responses to word, non-word, and pseudo-word items to study whether serial within-word processing stems mainly from a lexical, orthographic, or phonological processing level, respectively. Gaze positions showed earlier responses to anomalies located at pseudo- and non-word beginnings rather than endings, whereas informative word beginnings or endings did not affect gaze positions. The overall pattern of results suggests parallel letter processing of real words and rapid serial within-word processing when reading novel words. Dysfluent readers' gaze position responses toward anomalies located at pseudo- and non-word endings were delayed substantially, suggesting impairment in serial processing at an orthographic processing level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarkko Hautala
- Agora Center, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- * E-mail:
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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22
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Bogon J, Finke K, Schulte-Körne G, Müller HJ, Schneider WX, Stenneken P. Parameter-based assessment of disturbed and intact components of visual attention in children with developmental dyslexia. Dev Sci 2014; 17:697-713. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2013] [Accepted: 10/08/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Bogon
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University of Regensburg; Germany
- Clinical Linguistics; Bielefeld University; Germany
- Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC); Bielefeld University; Germany
| | - Kathrin Finke
- Department of Psychology; General and Experimental Psychology/Neuro-Cognitive Psychology; Ludwig Maximilians University Munich; Germany
- Department of Psychology; Neuro-Cognitive Psychology & Center of Interdisciplinary Research; Bielefeld University; Germany
| | - Gerd Schulte-Körne
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy; University of Munich; Germany
| | - Hermann J. Müller
- Department of Psychology; General and Experimental Psychology/Neuro-Cognitive Psychology; Ludwig Maximilians University Munich; Germany
| | - Werner X. Schneider
- Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC); Bielefeld University; Germany
- Department of Psychology; Neuro-Cognitive Psychology & Center of Interdisciplinary Research; Bielefeld University; Germany
| | - Prisca Stenneken
- Clinical Linguistics; Bielefeld University; Germany
- Center of Excellence ‘Cognitive Interaction Technology' (CITEC); Bielefeld University; Germany
- Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education; Speech and Language Pathology; University of Cologne; Germany
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23
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De Luca M, Pontillo M, Primativo S, Spinelli D, Zoccolotti P. The eye-voice lead during oral reading in developmental dyslexia. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:696. [PMID: 24223541 PMCID: PMC3818695 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2013] [Accepted: 10/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In reading aloud, the eye typically leads over voice position. In the present study, eye movements and voice utterances were simultaneously recorded and tracked during the reading of a meaningful text to evaluate the eye-voice lead in 16 dyslexic and 16 same-age control readers. Dyslexic children were slower than control peers in reading texts. Their slowness was characterized by a great number of silent pauses and sounding-out behaviors and a small lengthening of word articulation times. Regarding eye movements, dyslexic readers made many more eye fixations (and generally smaller rightward saccades) than controls. Eye movements and voice (which were shifted in time because of the eye-voice lead) were synchronized in dyslexic readers as well as controls. As expected, the eye-voice lead was significantly smaller in dyslexic than control readers, confirming early observations by Buswell (1921) and Fairbanks (1937). The eye-voice lead was significantly correlated with several eye movements and voice parameters, particularly number of fixations and silent pauses. The difference in performance between dyslexic and control readers across several eye and voice parameters was expressed by a ratio of about 2. We propose that referring to proportional differences allows for a parsimonious interpretation of the reading deficit in terms of a single deficit in word decoding. The possible source of this deficit may call for visual or phonological mechanisms, including Goswami's temporal sampling framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria De Luca
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
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24
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Zoccolotti P, De Luca M, Lami L, Pizzoli C, Pontillo M, Spinelli D. Multiple stimulus presentation yields larger deficits in children with developmental dyslexia: A study with reading and RAN-type tasks. Child Neuropsychol 2013; 19:639-47. [DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2012.718325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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25
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Bridging the gap between different measures of the reading speed deficit in developmental dyslexia. Exp Brain Res 2013; 232:237-52. [PMID: 24132528 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-013-3735-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2013] [Accepted: 10/03/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The study assessed how decoding and pronunciation times contribute to total reading time in reading aloud and how these measures change in the presence of developmental dyslexia. Vocal reaction times (RTs), pronunciation times, and total reading times were measured while 25 children with dyslexia and 43 age-matched typically developing readers read singly presented words and non-words that varied for length. Group differences were large for vocal RTs; children with dyslexia were increasingly slower as a function of condition difficulty (over-additivity effect); lexicality and length influenced RTs even when over-additivity was controlled for by z-score transformation. The group differences were also large for vocal total reading times, but the effect of over-additivity was smaller than that of vocal RTs and no selective influence of lexicality and length was detected. Pronunciation times showed very small individual differences and no over-additivity effect; children with dyslexia were more sensitive to the effect of lexicality and length than controls. To assess the contribution of the cognitive and sensory-motor compartments in determining group differences, we applied the difference engine model. As for RTs, the relationship between means and standard deviations closely supported the prediction of a general cognitive delay in the slow group, with no group difference in the sensory-motor compartment. The variance in total reading times was predicted by combining the model results for RTs with the linear relationship between pronunciation times and task difficulty. The results help clarify the internal structure of reading times, a measure largely used in clinical testing to assess reading rate.
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26
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Fernandes T, Vale AP, Martins B, Morais J, Kolinsky R. The deficit of letter processing in developmental dyslexia: combining evidence from dyslexics, typical readers and illiterate adults. Dev Sci 2013; 17:125-41. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2012] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tânia Fernandes
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences; Universidade do Porto; Portugal
| | - Ana P. Vale
- Dyslexia Unit, Department of Education and Psychology; Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro; Portugal
| | - Bruno Martins
- Dyslexia Unit, Department of Education and Psychology; Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro; Portugal
| | - José Morais
- Unité de recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives (UNESCOG); Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN); Université Libre de Bruxelles; Belgium
| | - Régine Kolinsky
- Unité de recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives (UNESCOG); Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN); Université Libre de Bruxelles; Belgium
- Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS; Belgium
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27
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Lété B, Fayol M. Substituted-letter and transposed-letter effects in a masked priming paradigm with French developing readers and dyslexics. J Exp Child Psychol 2012; 114:47-62. [PMID: 23046691 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2011] [Revised: 08/31/2012] [Accepted: 09/01/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the study was to undertake a behavioral investigation of the development of automatic orthographic processing during reading acquisition in French. Following Castles and colleagues' 2007 study (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 97, 165-182) and their lexical tuning hypothesis framework, substituted-letter and transposed-letter primes were used in a masked priming paradigm with third graders, fifth graders, adults, and phonological dyslexics matched on reading level with the third graders. No priming effect was found in third graders. In adults, only a transposed-letter priming effect was found; there was no substituted-letter priming effect. Finally, fifth graders and dyslexics showed both substituted-letter and transposed-letter priming effects. Priming effects between the two groups were of the same magnitude after response time (RT) z-score transformation. Taken together, our results show that the pattern of priming effects found by Castles and colleagues in English normal readers emerges later in French normal readers. In other words, language orthographies seem to constrain the tuning of the orthographic system, with an opaque orthography producing faster tuning of orthographic processing than more transparent orthographies because of the high level of reliance on phonological decoding while learning to read.
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28
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Sambai A, Uno A, Kurokawa S, Haruhara N, Kaneko M, Awaya N, Kozuka J, Goto T, Tsutamori E, Nakagawa K, Wydell TN. An investigation into kana reading development in normal and dyslexic Japanese children using length and lexicality effects. Brain Dev 2012; 34:520-8. [PMID: 21996030 DOI: 10.1016/j.braindev.2011.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2011] [Revised: 08/18/2011] [Accepted: 09/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This is the first study to report differences between Japanese children with and without dyslexia in the way string-length and lexicality effects are manifested when reading Japanese kana. These children were asked to read kana words and non-words consisting of either two or five kana characters. The results showed that the error rates of the normal Preschoolers and Primary-School children with dyslexia were higher than those of the normal Primary-School children. Further, the reading latencies of the normal Preschoolers, First-graders and dyslexics were significantly longer than those of the normal Second, Third and Fifth/Sixth graders. Moreover, reading latencies became shorter as the age of the participants increased. Both normal and dyslexic children showed significant effects of length and lexicality on reading latencies. However, the interaction between the length and lexicality was only seen in normal children from the Second-grade onwards. These results suggest that (1) normal First-graders reach a ceiling in terms of reading accuracy and that (2) as Japanese normal children become older, they become better at lexical reading processes, which leads to fluent kana reading, but that (3) the dyslexics, even at Fifth/Sixth grades, have not developed sufficient lexical reading processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ami Sambai
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
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29
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Di Filippo G, Zoccolotti P. Separating global and specific factors in developmental dyslexia. Child Neuropsychol 2011; 18:356-91. [PMID: 21962079 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2011.613809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The general goal of the study was to identify global and specific components in developmental dyslexia using various manipulations based on the rapid automatization paradigm (RAN). In two experiments, we used both factor analysis and the Rate-and-Amount Model to verify if one (or more) global factor(s) and a variety of specific effects contribute to the naming (and visual search) deficits in children with dyslexia. Results of Experiment 1 indicated the presence of three global components: pictorial naming, detailed orthographic analysis, and visual search. Pictorial naming is predicated by typical RAN tasks (such as naming colors or objects), independent of set size, but also from a variety of other tasks including Stroop interference conditions. The detailed orthographic analysis factor accounts for naming of orthographic stimuli at high set size. Visual search marked tasks requiring the scanning of visual targets. Results of Experiment 2 confirmed the separation between the pictorial naming and detailed orthographic analysis factors both in the original sample and in a new group of children. Furthermore, specific effects of frequency, lexicality, and length were shown to contribute to the reading deficit. Overall, it is proposed that focusing on the profile of both global and specific effects provides a more effective and, at the same time, simpler account of the dyslexics' impairment.
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30
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Stenneken P, Egetemeir J, Schulte-Körne G, Müller HJ, Schneider WX, Finke K. Slow perceptual processing at the core of developmental dyslexia: A parameter-based assessment of visual attention. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:3454-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2011] [Revised: 08/18/2011] [Accepted: 08/23/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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31
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McIntosh RD, Brooks JL. Current tests and trends in single-case neuropsychology. Cortex 2011; 47:1151-9. [PMID: 21930266 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2011] [Revised: 07/29/2011] [Accepted: 08/08/2011] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
In this issue of Cortex, Crawford, Garthwaite and Ryan publish bayesian statistical tests that will enable researchers to take account of covariates when comparing single patients to control samples. In this article, we provide some context for this development, from an audit of the Cortex archives. We suggest that single-case research is alive and well, and more rigorous than ever, and that current practice has been shaped considerably by Crawford and colleagues' statistical refinements over the past 12 years. However, there is scope for further tightening and standardisation of statistical methods and reporting standards. The advantages offered by the new bayesian tests should promote the even wider use of appropriate statistical methods, with benefits for the validity of individual studies, and for cross-comparability in the single-case literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D McIntosh
- Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK.
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32
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Paizi D, Burani C, De Luca M, Zoccolotti P. List context manipulation reveals orthographic deficits in Italian readers with developmental dyslexia. Child Neuropsychol 2011; 17:459-82. [PMID: 21424948 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2010.551187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
We tested the influence of list context on word frequency and length effects on the reading aloud of Italian developmental dyslexics and skilled peers. The stimuli were presented either in mixed blocks (alternating words and nonwords) or in pure blocks. The analyses based on the rate-and-amount model ( Faust et al., 1999 ) indicated that group differences in reaction times between dyslexic and skilled readers (a) were well accounted for in terms of global components and (b) were modulated by context in the case of words but not in the case of nonwords. ANOVAs on z-transformed reaction time data further indicated the influence of stimulus length. Importantly, the frequency effect interacted with context: Controls showed a list context effect for high- and low-frequency words, while dyslexics showed a list context effect only for high-frequency words. The effect of length on reading times remained unaffected by context manipulation. It is proposed that this pattern of results may be accounted for by hypothesizing two separate deficits: An early graphemic impairment affecting performance independently of context and a later inefficiency in activating entries in the orthographic lexicon as a function of context demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Despina Paizi
- Institute for Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC--CNR), Rome, Italy.
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33
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Foley JA, Della Sala S. Do shorter Cortex papers have greater impact? Cortex 2011; 47:635-42. [PMID: 21463860 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2011] [Accepted: 03/18/2011] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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34
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Marinelli CV, Angelelli P, Di Filippo G, Zoccolotti P. Is developmental dyslexia modality specific? A visual-auditory comparison of Italian dyslexics. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:1718-29. [PMID: 21382386 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2009] [Revised: 02/09/2011] [Accepted: 02/26/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Although developmental dyslexia is often referred to as a cross-modal disturbance, tests of different modalities using the same stimuli are lacking. We compared the performance of 23 children with dyslexia and 42 chronologically matched control readers on reading versus repetition tasks and visual versus auditory lexical decision using the same stimuli. With respect to control readers, children with dyslexia were impaired only on stimuli in the visual modality; they had no deficit on the repetition and auditory lexical decision tasks. By applying the rate-amount model (Faust et al., 1999), we showed that performance of children with dyslexia on visual (but not auditory) tasks was associated with that of control readers by a linear relationship (with a 1.78 slope), suggesting that a global factor accounts for visual (but not auditory) task performance. We conclude that the processing of linguistic stimuli in the visual and auditory modalities is carried out by independent processes and that dyslexic children have a selective deficit in the visual modality.
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35
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Angelelli P, Notarnicola A, Judica A, Zoccolotti P, Luzzatti C. Spelling impairments in Italian dyslexic children: Phenomenological changes in primary school. Cortex 2010; 46:1299-311. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2008] [Revised: 06/09/2009] [Accepted: 09/07/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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