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Luke SG, Tolley C, Gutierrez A, Smith C, Brown T, Woodruff K, Ford O. The perceptual span in dyslexic reading and visual search. DYSLEXIA (CHICHESTER, ENGLAND) 2024; 30:e1783. [PMID: 39155549 PMCID: PMC11335319 DOI: 10.1002/dys.1783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
Many studies have attempted to identify the root cause of dyslexia. Different theories of dyslexia have proposed either a phonological, attentional, or visual deficit. While research has used eye-tracking to study dyslexia, only two previous studies have used the moving-window paradigm to explore the perceptual span in dyslexic reading, and none have done so in visual search. The present study analysed the perceptual span using both reading and visual search tasks to identify language-independent attentional impairments in dyslexics. We found equivocal evidence that the perceptual span was impaired in dyslexic reading and no evidence of impairment in visual search. However, dyslexic participants did show deficits in the visual search task, with lower search accuracy and shorter saccades compared with controls. These results lend support for a visual, rather than attentional or phonological, account of dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven G Luke
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Celeste Tolley
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Adriana Gutierrez
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Cole Smith
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Toni Brown
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Kate Woodruff
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
| | - Olivia Ford
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
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Eggleston RL, Marks RA, Sun X, Yu CL, Zhang K, Nickerson N, Hu X, Caruso V, Kovelman I. Lexical Morphology as a Source of Risk and Resilience for Learning to Read With Dyslexia: An fNIRS Investigation. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2024; 67:2269-2282. [PMID: 38924392 PMCID: PMC11253800 DOI: 10.1044/2024_jslhr-23-00293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE We examined the neurocognitive bases of lexical morphology in children of varied reading abilities to understand the role of meaning-based skills in learning to read with dyslexia. METHOD Children completed auditory morphological and phonological awareness tasks during functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. We first examined the relation between lexical morphology and phonological processes in typically developing readers (Study 1, N = 66, Mage = 8.39), followed by a more focal inquiry into lexical morphology processes in dyslexia (Study 2, N = 50, Mage = 8.62). RESULTS Typical readers exhibited stronger engagement of language neurocircuitry during the morphology task relative to the phonology task, suggesting that morphological analyses involve synthesizing multiple components of sublexical processing. This effect was stronger for more analytically complex derivational affixes (like + ly) than more semantically transparent free base morphemes (snow + man). In contrast, children with dyslexia exhibited stronger activation during the free base condition relative to derivational affix condition. Taken together, the findings suggest that although children with dyslexia may struggle with derivational morphology, they may also use free base morphemes' semantic information to boost word recognition. CONCLUSION This study informs literacy theories by identifying an interaction between reading ability, word structure, and how the developing brain learns to recognize words in speech and print. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25944949.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rebecca A. Marks
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
| | - Xin Sun
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Chi-Lin Yu
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
| | - Kehui Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Division of Arts and Sciences, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Nia Nickerson
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
| | - Xiaosu Hu
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
| | - Valeria Caruso
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Gagl B, Gregorová K. Investigating lexical categorization in reading based on joint diagnostic and training approaches for language learners. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:29. [PMID: 38600183 PMCID: PMC11006909 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00237-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Efficient reading is essential for societal participation, so reading proficiency is a central educational goal. Here, we use an individualized diagnostics and training framework to investigate processes in visual word recognition and evaluate its usefulness for detecting training responders. We (i) motivated a training procedure based on the Lexical Categorization Model (LCM) to introduce the framework. The LCM describes pre-lexical orthographic processing implemented in the left-ventral occipital cortex and is vital to reading. German language learners trained their lexical categorization abilities while we monitored reading speed change. In three studies, most language learners increased their reading skills. Next, we (ii) estimated, for each word, the LCM-based features and assessed each reader's lexical categorization capabilities. Finally, we (iii) explored machine learning procedures to find the optimal feature selection and regression model to predict the benefit of the lexical categorization training for each individual. The best-performing pipeline increased reading speed from 23% in the unselected group to 43% in the machine-selected group. This selection process strongly depended on parameters associated with the LCM. Thus, training in lexical categorization can increase reading skills, and accurate computational descriptions of brain functions that allow the motivation of a training procedure combined with machine learning can be powerful for individualized reading training procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Gagl
- Self-learning Systems Laboratory, Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
- Department of Psychology and Sports Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Klara Gregorová
- Department of Psychology and Sports Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital & German Center of Prevention Research on Mental Health, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Schwarz J, Lizarazu M, Lallier M, Klimovich-Gray A. Phonological deficits in dyslexia impede lexical processing of spoken words: Linking behavioural and MEG data. Cortex 2024; 171:204-222. [PMID: 38029653 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.10.003] [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: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Phonological difficulties have been identified as a core deficit in developmental dyslexia, yet everyday speech comprehension, which relies on phonological processing, is seemingly unaffected. This raises the question as to how dyslexic readers process spoken words to achieve normal word comprehension. Here we establish a link between neural correlates of lexical and sublexical processing in auditory words and behaviourally measured phonological deficits using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Spatiotemporally resolved cortical responses to phonological and lexico-semantic information were computed with the event-related regression technique (Hauk et al., 2009) and correlated with dyslexic and non-dyslexic subjects' phonological skills. We found that phonological deficits reduced cortical responses to both phonological and lexico-semantic information (phonological neighbours and word frequency). Individuals with lower phonological skills - independent of dyslexia diagnosis - showed weaker neural responses to phonological neighbourhood information in both hemispheres 200-500 ms after word onset and reduced sensitivity to written and spoken word frequency between 200 and 650 ms. Dyslexic readers showed weaker responses to written word frequency in particular compared to the control group, pointing towards an additional effect of print exposure on auditory word processing. Source space analysis localised phonological and lexico-semantic effect peaks to the left superior temporal gyrus, a key area that has been related to core deficits in dyslexia across a range of neuroimaging studies. The results provide comprehensive evidence that phonological deficits impact both sublexical and lexical stages of spoken word processing and that these deficits cannot be fully compensated through neural re-organization of lexical-distributional information at the single word level. Theoretical and practical implications for typical readers, dyslexic readers, and readers with developmental language disorder are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mikel Lizarazu
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Marie Lallier
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia, San Sebastian, Spain
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Luke SG, Brown T, Smith C, Gutierrez A, Tolley C, Ford O. Dyslexics Exhibit an Orthographic, Not a Phonological Deficit in Lexical Decision. LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 39:330-340. [PMID: 38882928 PMCID: PMC11178288 DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2023.2288319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Dyslexia is theorized to be caused by phonological deficits, visuo-attentional deficits, or some combination of the two. The present study contrasted phonological and visuo-attentional theories of dyslexia using a lexical decision task administered to adult participants with and without dyslexia. Homophone and pseudo-homophone stimuli were included to explore whether the two groups differed in their reliance on phonological encoding. Transposed-letter stimuli, including both TL neighbors and TL non-words, measured potential orthographic impairment predicted by visuo-attentional deficit theories. The findings revealed no significant difference in response time or accuracy between the groups for the homophone and pseudo-homophone stimuli. However, dyslexics were significantly slower and less accurate in their responses to the TL stimuli than controls. Thus, dyslexics presented deficits consistent with visuo-attentional theories, but not with the phonological deficit theory.
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Klimovich-Gray A, Di Liberto G, Amoruso L, Barrena A, Agirre E, Molinaro N. Increased top-down semantic processing in natural speech linked to better reading in dyslexia. Neuroimage 2023; 273:120072. [PMID: 37004829 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Early research proposed that individuals with developmental dyslexia use contextual information to facilitate lexical access and compensate for phonological deficits. Yet at present there is no corroborating neuro-cognitive evidence. We explored this with a novel combination of magnetoencephalography (MEG), neural encoding and grey matter volume analyses. We analysed MEG data from 41 adult native Spanish speakers (14 with dyslexic symptoms) who passively listened to naturalistic sentences. We used multivariate Temporal Response Function analysis to capture online cortical tracking of both auditory (speech envelope) and contextual information. To compute contextual information tracking we used word-level Semantic Surprisal derived using a Transformer Neural Network language model. We related online information tracking to participants' reading scores and grey matter volumes within the reading-linked cortical network. We found that right hemisphere envelope tracking was related to better phonological decoding (pseudoword reading) for both groups, with dyslexic readers performing worse overall at this task. Consistently, grey matter volume in the superior temporal and bilateral inferior frontal areas increased with better envelope tracking abilities. Critically, for dyslexic readers only, stronger Semantic Surprisal tracking in the right hemisphere was related to better word reading. These findings further support the notion of a speech envelope tracking deficit in dyslexia and provide novel evidence for top-down semantic compensatory mechanisms.
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Collette E, Schelstraete MA. Accès aux représentations sémantiques en lecture et inhibition cognitive chez les étudiants dyslexiques : l’apport de la tâche Stroop sémantique. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2021. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy1.213.0177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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Rasamimanana M, Barbaroux M, Colé P, Besson M. Semantic compensation and novel word learning in university students with dyslexia. Neuropsychologia 2020; 139:107358. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Frey A, François C, Chobert J, Velay JL, Habib M, Besson M. Music Training Positively Influences the Preattentive Perception of Voice Onset Time in Children with Dyslexia: A Longitudinal Study. Brain Sci 2019; 9:brainsci9040091. [PMID: 31010099 PMCID: PMC6523730 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci9040091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous results showed a positive influence of music training on linguistic abilities at both attentive and preattentive levels. Here, we investigate whether six months of active music training is more efficient than painting training to improve the preattentive processing of phonological parameters based on durations that are often impaired in children with developmental dyslexia (DD). Results were also compared to a control group of Typically Developing (TD) children matched on reading age. We used a Test–Training–Retest procedure and analysed the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and the N1 and N250 components of the Event-Related Potentials to syllables that differed in Voice Onset Time (VOT), vowel duration, and vowel frequency. Results were clear-cut in showing a normalization of the preattentive processing of VOT in children with DD after music training but not after painting training. They also revealed increased N250 amplitude to duration deviant stimuli in children with DD after music but not painting training, and no training effect on the preattentive processing of frequency. These findings are discussed in view of recent theories of dyslexia pointing to deficits in processing the temporal structure of speech. They clearly encourage the use of active music training for the rehabilitation of children with language impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Frey
- ESPE de l'académie de Créteil, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Laboratoire CHArt, 94380 Bonneuil-sur-Marne, France.
| | - Clément François
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage, CNRS et Aix Marseille Université, 13640 Aix-en-Provence, France.
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, IDIBELL, University of Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Julie Chobert
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, CNRS et Aix-Marseille Université, 13331 Marseille, France.
| | - Jean-Luc Velay
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, CNRS et Aix-Marseille Université, 13331 Marseille, France.
| | - Michel Habib
- Département de Neurologie Pédiatrique, CHU Timone, 13005 Marseille, France.
| | - Mireille Besson
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, CNRS et Aix-Marseille Université, 13331 Marseille, France.
- Cuban Neuroscience Center, La Havane 4850, Cuba.
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