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Kimel E, Daikhin L, Jakoby H, Ahissar M. Reduced benefit from long-term item frequency contributes to short-term memory deficits in dyslexia. Mem Cognit 2024:10.3758/s13421-024-01601-z. [PMID: 38956011 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01601-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Dyslexia, a specific difficulty in acquiring proficient reading, is also characterized by reduced short-term memory (STM) capacity. Extensive research indicates that individuals with developmental dyslexia (IDDs) benefit less from exposure, and this hampers their long-term knowledge accumulation. It is well established that long-term knowledge has a great effect on performance in STM tasks, and thus IDDs' reduced benefit of exposure could potentially reduce their relative performance in such tasks, especially when frequent items, such as digit-words, are used. In this study we used a standard, widely used, STM assessment: the Digit Span subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The task was conducted twice: in native language and in second language. As exposure to native language is greater than exposure to second language, we predicted that IDDs' performance in the task administered in native language will reveal a larger group difference as compared to second language, due to IDDs' reduced benefit of item frequency. The prediction was confirmed, in line with the hypothesis that reduced STM in dyslexia to a large extent reflects reduced benefits from long-term item frequency and not a reduced STM per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Kimel
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Jerusalem, Israel.
- Department of Psychology, The University of York, York, North Yorkshire, YO10 5DD, UK.
| | - Luba Daikhin
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Hilla Jakoby
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Communication Disorders, Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Merav Ahissar
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Jerusalem, Israel
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Gertsovski A, Guri O, Ahissar M. Reduced categorical learning of faces in dyslexia. Cortex 2024; 173:80-95. [PMID: 38387376 PMCID: PMC10988772 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The perception of phonological categories in dyslexia is less refined than in typically developing (TD) individuals. Traditionally, this characteristic was considered unique to phonology, yet many studies showed non-phonological perceptual difficulties. Importantly, measuring the dynamics of cortical adaptation, associated with category acquisition, revealed a broadly distributed faster decay of cortical adaptation. Taken together, these observations suggest that the acquisition of perceptual categories in dyslexia may be slower across modalities. To test this, we tested adult individuals with developmental dyslexia (IDDs) and TDs on learning of two unknown faces, yielding face-specific categorization. Initial accuracy was similar in the two groups, yet practice-induced increase in accuracy was significantly larger in TDs. Modeling the learning process (using Drift Diffusion Model) revealed that TDs' steeper learning results from a larger increase in their effective face-specific signal. We propose that IDDs' slower item-specific categorical learning of unknown faces indicates that slower categorical learning in dyslexia is a core, domain-general difficulty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayelet Gertsovski
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Odeya Guri
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Merav Ahissar
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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Daikoku T, Jentschke S, Tsogli V, Bergström K, Lachmann T, Ahissar M, Koelsch S. Neural correlates of statistical learning in developmental dyslexia: An electroencephalography study. Biol Psychol 2023; 181:108592. [PMID: 37268263 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The human brain extracts statistical regularities from the surrounding environment in a process called statistical learning. Behavioural evidence suggests that developmental dyslexia affects statistical learning. However, surprisingly few studies have assessed how developmental dyslexia affects the neural processing underlying this type of learning. We used electroencephalography to explore the neural correlates of an important aspect of statistical learning - sensitivity to transitional probabilities - in individuals with developmental dyslexia. Adults diagnosed with developmental dyslexia (n = 17) and controls (n = 19) were exposed to a continuous stream of sound triplets. Every so often, a triplet ending had a low transitional probability given the triplet's first two sounds ("statistical deviants"). Furthermore, every so often a triplet ending was presented from a deviant location ("acoustic deviants"). We examined mismatch negativity elicited by statistical deviants (sMMN), and MMN elicited by location deviants (i.e., acoustic changes). Acoustic deviants elicited a MMN which was larger in the control group than in the developmental dyslexia group. Statistical deviants elicited a small, yet significant, sMMN in the control group, but not in the developmental dyslexia group. However, the difference between the groups was not significant. Our findings indicate that the neural mechanisms underlying pre-attentive acoustic change detection and implicit statistical auditory learning are both affected in developmental dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Daikoku
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Center for Brain, Mind and KANSEI Sciences Research, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3, Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima city, Hiroshima, Japan.
| | | | - Vera Tsogli
- Department for Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Kirstin Bergström
- Center for Cognitive Science, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Thomas Lachmann
- Center for Cognitive Science, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad Nebrija, Madrid, Spain
| | - Merav Ahissar
- Psychology Department, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Stefan Koelsch
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Department for Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Hong G, Fu X, Chen X, Zhang L, Han X, Ding S, Liu Z, Bi X, Li W, Chang M, Qiao R, Guo S, Tu H, Chai R. Dyslexia-Related Hearing Loss Occurs Mainly through the Abnormal Spontaneous Electrical Activity of Spiral Ganglion Neurons. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2205754. [PMID: 37068190 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202205754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Dyslexia is a reading and spelling disorder due to neurodevelopmental abnormalities and is occasionally found to be accompanied by hearing loss, but the reason for the associated deafness remains unclear. This study finds that knockout of the dyslexia susceptibility 1 candidate 1 gene (Dyx1c1-/- ) in mice, the best gene for studying dyslexia, causes severe hearing loss, and thus it is a good model for studying the mechanism of dyslexia-related hearing loss (DRHL). This work finds that the Dyx1c1 gene is highly expressed in the mouse cochlea and that the spontaneous electrical activity of inner hair cells and type I spiral ganglion neurons is altered in the cochleae of Dyx1c1-/- mice. In addition, primary ciliary dyskinesia-related phenotypes such as situs inversus and disrupted ciliary structure are seen in Dyx1c1-/- mice. In conclusion, this study gives new insights into the mechanism of DRHL in detail and suggests that Dyx1c1 may serve as a potential target for the clinical diagnosis of DRHL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guodong Hong
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Xiaolong Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Xin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
| | - Liyan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
| | - Xuan Han
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
| | - Shuqin Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
| | - Ziyi Liu
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Xiuli Bi
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Wen Li
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Miao Chang
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Ruifeng Qiao
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Siwei Guo
- School of Life Science, Shandong University, 266237, Qingdao, China
| | - Hailong Tu
- Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 250000, Jinan, China
| | - Renjie Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China
- Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, China
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 610072, Chengdu, China
- Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Science, 100101, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, 100069, Beijing, China
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Repeated series learning revisited with a novel prediction on the reduced effect of item frequency in dyslexia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13521. [PMID: 35941176 PMCID: PMC9359986 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16805-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia, a difficulty with acquiring fluent reading, has also been characterized by reduced short-term memory (STM) capacity, which is often operationalized with span tasks. The low performance of individuals with dyslexia (IDDs) in such tasks is commonly attributed to poor phonological memory. However, we suggest an alternative explanation based on the observation that many times the items that are used in spans tasks are high-frequency items (e.g., digit words). We suggest that IDDs do not enjoy the benefit of item frequency to the same extent as controls, and thus their performance in span tasks is especially hampered. On the contrary, learning of repeated sequences was shown to be largely independent of item frequency, and therefore this type of learning may be unimpaired in dyslexia. To test both predictions, we used the Hebb-learning paradigm. We found that IDDs’ performance is especially poor compared to controls’ when high-frequency items are used, and that their repeated series learning does not differ from that of controls. Taken together with existing literature, our findings suggest that impaired learning of repeated series is not a core characteristic of dyslexia, and that the reports on reduced STM in dyslexia may to a large extent be explained by reduced benefit of item frequency.
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