Temporal processing, attention, and learning disorders

Digital rhythm training improves reading fluency in children

Musical instrument training has been linked to improved academic and cognitive abilities in children, but it remains unclear why this occurs. Moreover, access to instrument training is not always feasible, thereby leaving less fortunate children without opportunity to benefit from such training. Although music-based video games may be more accessible to a broader population, research is lacking regarding their benefits on academic and cognitive performance. To address this gap, we assessed a custom-designed, digital rhythm training game as a proxy for instrument training to evaluate its ability to engender benefits in math and reading abilities. Furthermore, we tested for changes in core cognitive functions related to math and reading to inform how rhythm training may facilitate improved academic abilities. Classrooms of 8-9 year old children were randomized to receive either 6 weeks of rhythm training (N = 32) or classroom instruction as usual (control; N = 21). Compared to the control group, results showed that rhythm training improved reading, but not math, fluency. Assessments of cognition showed that rhythm training also led to improved rhythmic timing and language-based executive function (Stroop task), but not sustained attention, inhibitory control, or working memory. Interestingly, only the improvements in rhythmic timing correlated with improvements in reading ability. Together, these results provide novel evidence that a digital platform may serve as a proxy for musical instrument training to facilitate reading fluency in children, and that such reading improvements are related to enhanced rhythmic timing ability and not other cognitive functions associated with reading performance. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Digital rhythm training in the classroom can improve reading fluency in 8-9 year old children Improvements in reading fluency were positively correlated with enhanced rhythmic timing ability Alterations in reading fluency were not predicted by changes in other executive functions that support reading A digital platform may be a convenient and cost-effective means to provide musical rhythm training, which in turn, can facilitate academic skills.

Early-life stress affects Mongolian gerbil interactions with conspecific vocalizations in a sex-specific manner

During development, early-life stress (ELS) impairs cognition, learning, and emotional regulation, in part by disrupting neural circuitry in regions underlying these higher-order functions. In addition, our recent work indicates that ELS also alters simple sensory perception: ELS impaired auditory perception and neural encoding of short gaps in sounds, which are essential for vocal communication. The combination of higher-order and basic sensory disruption suggests that ELS is likely to affect both the perception and interpretation of communication signals. We tested this hypothesis by measuring behavioral responses to conspecific vocalizations (those emitted by other gerbils) in ELS and untreated Mongolian gerbils. Because stress effects often differ by sex, we separately examined females and males. To induce ELS, pups were intermittently maternally separated and restrained from post-natal days (P) 9-24, a time window when the auditory cortex is most sensitive to external disruption. We measured the approach responses of juvenile (P31-32) gerbils to two types of conspecific vocalizations: an alarm call, which is emitted to alert other gerbils of a potential threat, and the prosocial contact call, which is emitted near familiar gerbils, especially after separation. Control males, Control females, and ELS females approached a speaker emitting pre-recorded alarm calls, while ELS males avoided this source, suggesting that ELS affects the response to alarm calls in male gerbils. During playback of the pre-recorded contact call, Control females and ELS males avoided the sound source, while Control males neither approached nor avoided, and ELS females approached the sound. These differences cannot be accounted for by changes in locomotion or baseline arousal. However, ELS gerbils slept more during playback, suggesting that ELS may reduce arousal during vocalization playback. Further, male gerbils made more errors than females on a measure of working memory, but the sex difference of cognition in this context may stem from novelty aversion rather than impaired memory. These data indicate that ELS influences behavioral responses to ethologically relevant communication sounds in a sex-specific manner, and are among the first to demonstrate an altered response to auditory stimuli following ELS. Such changes may arise from differences in auditory perception, cognition, or a combination of factors, and suggest that ELS may affect auditory communication in human adolescents.

The Neurological Basis of Developmental Dyslexia and Related Disorders: A Reappraisal of the Temporal Hypothesis, Twenty Years on

In a now-classic article published a couple of decades ago (Brain, 2000; 123: 2373-2399), I proposed an "extended temporal processing deficit hypothesis of dyslexia", suggesting that a deficit in temporal processing could explain not only language-related peculiarities usually noticed in dyslexic children, but also a wider range of symptoms related to impaired processing of time in general. In the present review paper, I will revisit this "historical" hypothesis both in the light of a new clinical perspective, including the central yet poorly explained notion of comorbidity, and also taking a new look at the most recent experimental work, mainly focusing on brain imaging data. First, consistent with daily clinical practice, I propose to distinguish three groups of children who fail to learn to read, of fairly equal occurrence, who share the same initial presentation (difficulty in mastering the rules of grapheme-phoneme correspondence) but with differing associated signs and/or comorbid conditions (language disorders in the first group, attentional deficits in the second one, and motor coordination problems in the last one), thus suggesting, at least in part, potentially different triggering mechanisms. It is then suggested, in the light of brain imaging information available to date, that the three main clinical presentations/associations of cognitive impairments that compromise reading skills acquisition correspond to three distinct patterns of miswiring or "disconnectivity" in specific brain networks which have in common their involvement in the process of learning and their heavy reliance on temporal features of information processing. With reference to the classic temporal processing deficit of dyslexia and to recent evidence of an inability of the dyslexic brain to achieve adequate coupling of oscillatory brain activity to the temporal features of external events, a general model is proposed according to which a common mechanism of temporal uncoupling between various disconnected-and/or mis-wired-processors may account for distinct forms of specific learning disorders, with reading impairment being a more or less constant feature. Finally, the potential therapeutic implications of such a view are considered, with special emphasis on methods seeking to enhance cross-modal connectivity between separate brain systems, including those using rhythmic and musical training in dyslexic patients.

Unisensory and multisensory temporal processing in autism and dyslexia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This study presents a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of temporal processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental dyslexia (DD), two neurodevelopmental disorders in which temporal processing deficits have been highly researched. The results provide strong evidence for impairments in temporal processing in both ASD (g = 0.48) and DD (g = 0.82), as measured by judgments of temporal order and simultaneity. In individual analyses, multisensory temporal processing was impaired for both ASD and DD, and unisensory auditory, visual and tactile processing were all impaired in DD. In ASD, speech stimuli showed moderate impairment effect sizes, whereas nonspeech stimuli showed small effects. Greater reading and spelling skills in DD were associated with greater temporal precision. Temporal deficits did not show changes with age in either disorder. In addition to more clearly defining temporal impairments in ASD and DD, the results highlight common and distinct patterns of temporal processing between these disorders. Deficits are discussed in relation to existing theoretical models, and recommendations are made for future research.

Comorbidity of Auditory Processing, Attention, and Memory in Children With Word Reading Difficulties

OBJECTIVES

To document the auditory processing, visual attention, digit memory, phonological processing, and receptive language abilities of individual children with identified word reading difficulties.

DESIGN

Twenty-five children with word reading difficulties and 28 control children with good word reading skills participated. All children were aged between 8 and 11 years, with normal hearing sensitivity and typical non-verbal intelligence. Both groups of children completed a test battery designed to assess their auditory processing, visual attention, digit memory, phonological processing, and receptive language.

RESULTS

When compared to children who were good readers, children with word reading difficulties obtained significantly lower average scores on tests of auditory processing, including the frequency pattern test, gaps in noise, frequency discrimination, Dichotic Digit difference Test, and Listening in Spatialized Noise. The two groups did not differ on the discrimination measures of sinusoidal amplitude modulation or iterated rippled noise. The results from children with word reading difficulties showed that 5 children (20%) had comorbid deficits in auditory processing, visual attention, and backward digit memory; whereas 12 children (48%) had comorbid auditory processing and visual attention deficits only, and 2 children (8%) had comorbid deficits in auditory processing and digit memory; the remaining children had only auditory processing, visual attention, or digit memory deficits.

CONCLUSION

The current study highlights the general co-existence of auditory processing, memory, and visual attention deficits in children with word reading difficulties. It is also noteworthy, however, that only one fifth of the current cohort had deficits across all measured tasks. Hence, our results also show the significant individual variability inherent in children with word reading difficulties.

Neuropsychological and Educational Profile of Children with Dyscalculia and Dyslexia: A Comparative Study

Abstract This paper aims to compare the neuropsychological and educational profiles of Brazilian children with dyscalculia (n = 8), dyslexia (n = 13) and without learning disabilities (n = 12). The neuropsychological profile was composed of: (a) intelligence - assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III); (b) attention - WISC-III Coding and Symbol Search subtests; (c) executive functions - Digit Span (backward order) and WISC-III Arithmetic subtests, Pseudoword Repetition Test for Brazilian Children, Stroop Test and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; (d) memory - WISC-III Digit Span subtest (forward order) and Rey Complex Figures. The educational profile was composed of reading, writing and mathematics, assessed by the Academic Performance Test and the Arithmetic Test. It was found that the groups with dyscalculia and dyslexia did not differentiate in any of the neuropsychological abilities, only in the reading and writing abilities. Neuropsychological variables that could explain these results were discussed.

Distinct effects of visual and auditory temporal processing training on reading and reading-related abilities in Chinese children with dyslexia

This study aimed to examine the effects of temporal processing training on the reading abilities of Chinese children with dyslexia. In total, 69 Chinese children with dyslexia in grades three through six were recruited in Taiwan. The children were divided into the following three equal groups: (1) auditory temporal processing training group, (2) visual temporal processing training group, and (3) control group with no specific training. The participants in both training groups received instruction with identical durations (30-40 min), intensities (12 times in total), and frequencies (three to four times per week). The participants in the control group were asked to independently surf some specified websites using devices similar to those used by the two experimental groups for an identical duration, intensity, and frequency. Our results indicated that the two groups who received temporal processing training exhibited significant correlations among Chinese character reading, rapid naming, and corresponding reading-related abilities, while visual temporal processing served as a significant predictor of Chinese character reading ability even if all background data, reading-related abilities, and auditory temporal processing were introduced first. Additionally, significant interactions were found between the Groups and Tested sessions in all the measures, except for phonological awareness, confirming the distinct effects of different temporal processing on most measures involved in this study. Further simple main effects revealed that only those who received the visual temporal processing training gained benefits in the corresponding reading-related ability (i.e., orthographic knowledge) and far-transfer to Chinese character reading.

Cognitive Risk Factors for Specific Learning Disorder: Processing Speed, Temporal Processing, and Working Memory

High comorbidity rates between reading disorder (RD) and mathematics disorder (MD) indicate that, although the cognitive core deficits underlying these disorders are distinct, additional domain-general risk factors might be shared between the disorders. Three domain-general cognitive abilities were investigated in children with RD and MD: processing speed, temporal processing, and working memory. Since attention problems frequently co-occur with learning disorders, the study examined whether these three factors, which are known to be associated with attention problems, account for the comorbidity between these disorders. The sample comprised 99 primary school children in four groups: children with RD, children with MD, children with both disorders (RD+MD), and typically developing children (TD controls). Measures of processing speed, temporal processing, and memory were analyzed in a series of ANCOVAs including attention ratings as covariate. All three risk factors were associated with poor attention. After controlling for attention, associations with RD and MD differed: Although deficits in verbal memory were associated with both RD and MD, reduced processing speed was related to RD, but not MD; and the association with RD was restricted to processing speed for familiar nameable symbols. In contrast, impairments in temporal processing and visuospatial memory were associated with MD, but not RD.

Neurocognitive Development and Predictors of L1 and L2 Literacy Skills in Dyslexia: A Longitudinal Study of Children 5-11 Years Old

The aim of this study was to find valid neurocognitive precursors of literacy development in first language (L1, Norwegian) and second language (L2, English) in a group of children during their Pre-literacy, Emergent Literacy and Literacy stages, by comparing children with dyslexia and a typical group. Children who were 5 years old at project start were followed until the age of 11, when dyslexia was identified and data could be analysed in retrospect. The children's neurocognitive pattern changed both by literacy stage and domain. Visuo-spatial recall and RAN appeared as early precursors of L1 literacy, while phonological awareness appeared as early precursor of L2 English. Verbal long term memory was associated with both L1 and L2 skills in the Literacy stage. Significant group differences seen in the Pre-literacy and Emergent literacy stages decreased in the Literacy stage. The developmental variations by stage and domain may explain some of the inconsistencies seen in dyslexia research. Early identification and training are essential to avoid academic failure, and our data show that visuo-spatial memory and RAN could be suitable early markers in transparent orthographies like Norwegian. Phonological awareness was here seen as an early precursor of L2 English, but not of L1 Norwegian.

Tarefas de Nomeação Seriada Rápida: Rastreando a Dificuldade de Leitura

RESUMO Este estudo analisou a precisão de medidas de nomeação seriada rápida (NSR) em identificar os estudantes em risco/sem risco de dificuldade de leitura. Tarefas de NSR requerem a nomeação rápida de diferentes estímulos visuais apresentados em um cartão. Duzentas e treze crianças realizaram as tarefas de NSR quando estavam na Educação Infantil e, dessas, 174 realizaram uma tarefa de leitura quando estavam no 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental. Análises da curva ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) indicaram que as medidas de NSR (objetos, cores, números e letras) são razoáveis em identificar o risco/não risco de dificuldade de leitura (área sob a curva ≥ 0,70), sendo a NSR de números a medida com melhores índices de sensibilidade (88%) e especificidade (50%).

Teorias da Dislexia: Sustentação com Base nas Alterações Perceptuais Auditivas

RESUMO Este estudo teve por objetivo examinar teorias contemporâneas da dislexia, com base nos achados sobre as alterações no processamento auditivo e na percepção de fala em disléxicos. A sustentação das teorias fonológica, alofônica e do déficit auditivo é discutida a partir dos achados sobre essas alterações perceptuais. É proposto um novo modelo teórico, segundo o qual a dislexia é um distúrbio multifatorial, com uma gama de sintomas comportamentais associados. O déficit apresentado pelos disléxicos é em parte linguístico, como enunciado na teoria fonológica, e em parte causado pela alteração perceptual auditiva, como prevê a teoria do déficit auditivo. Ambos os fatores interagem e são indissociáveis na explicação da sintomatologia observada no transtorno de leitura e escrita.

The relationship between phonological and auditory processing and brain organization in beginning readers

We employed brain-behavior analyses to explore the relationship between performance on tasks measuring phonological awareness, pseudoword decoding, and rapid auditory processing (all predictors of reading (dis)ability) and brain organization for print and speech in beginning readers. For print-related activation, we observed a shared set of skill-correlated regions, including left hemisphere temporoparietal and occipitotemporal sites, as well as inferior frontal, visual, visual attention, and subcortical components. For speech-related activation, shared variance among reading skill measures was most prominently correlated with activation in left hemisphere inferior frontal gyrus and precuneus. Implications for brain-based models of literacy acquisition are discussed.

Cortical basis for dichotic pitch perception in developmental dyslexia

The current study examined auditory processing deficits in dyslexia using a dichotic pitch stimulus and functional MRI. Cortical activation by the dichotic pitch task occurred in bilateral Heschl's gyri, right planum temporale, and right superior temporal sulcus. Adolescents with dyslexia, relative to age-matched controls, illustrated greater activity in left Heschl's gyrus for random noise, less activity in right Heschl's gyrus for all auditory conditions, and less activity in right superior temporal sulcus for a dichotic melody. Subsequent analyses showed that these group differences were attributable to dyslexic readers who performed poorly on the psychophysical task. Furthermore, behavioral performance on phonological reading was correlated to activity from dichotic conditions in right Heschl's gyrus and right superior temporal sulcus. It is postulated that these differences between reader groups is primarily due to a noise exclusion deficit shown previously in dyslexia.

Are auditory and visual processing deficits related to developmental dyslexia?

The purpose of this study was to examine if children with dyslexia learning to read a consistent orthography (Greek) experience auditory and visual processing deficits and if these deficits are associated with phonological awareness, rapid naming speed and orthographic processing. We administered measures of general cognitive ability, phonological awareness, orthographic processing, short-term memory, rapid automatized naming, auditory and visual processing, and reading fluency to 21 Grade 6 children with dyslexia, 21 chronological age-matched controls and 20 Grade 3 reading age-matched controls. The results indicated that the children with dyslexia did not experience auditory processing deficits, but about half of them showed visual processing deficits. Both orthographic processing and rapid automatized naming deficits were associated with dyslexia in our sample, but it is less clear that they were associated with visual processing deficits.