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Guerra G, Tijms J, Tierney A, Vaessen A, Dick F, Bonte M. Auditory attention influences trajectories of symbol-speech sound learning in children with and without dyslexia. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 237:105761. [PMID: 37666181 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105761] [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: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The acquisition of letter-speech sound correspondences is a fundamental process underlying reading development, one that could be influenced by several linguistic and domain-general cognitive factors. In the current study, we mimicked the first steps of this process by examining behavioral trajectories of audiovisual associative learning in 110 7- to 12-year-old children with and without dyslexia. Children were asked to learn the associations between eight novel symbols and native speech sounds in a brief training and subsequently read words and pseudowords written in the artificial orthography. We then investigated the influence of auditory attention as one of the putative domain-general factors influencing associative learning. To this aim, we assessed children with experimental measures of auditory sustained selective attention and interference control. Our results showed shallower learning trajectories in children with dyslexia, especially during the later phases of the training blocks. Despite this, children with dyslexia performed similarly to typical readers on the post-training reading tests using the artificial orthography. Better auditory sustained selective attention and interference control skills predicted greater response accuracy during training. Sustained selective attention was also associated with the ability to apply these novel correspondences in the reading tests. Although this result has the limitations of a correlational design, it denotes that poor attentional skills may constitute a risk during the early stages of reading acquisition, when children start to learn letter-speech sound associations. Importantly, our findings underscore the importance of examining dynamics of learning in reading acquisition as well as individual differences in more domain-general attentional factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Guerra
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; Maastricht Brain Imaging Center and Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Jurgen Tijms
- RID Institute, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Rudolf Berlin Center, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Adam Tierney
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Anniek Vaessen
- RID Institute, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Frederic Dick
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Milene Bonte
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center and Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Commissaire E, Demont E. Investigating L2 reading aloud and silent reading in typically developing readers and dyslexic adolescents from grades 6 to 9. DYSLEXIA (CHICHESTER, ENGLAND) 2022; 28:40-59. [PMID: 34496103 DOI: 10.1002/dys.1693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine the reading performance of French typically developing readers and dyslexic adolescents from grades 6 to 9 in English as a second language (L2) learned in a school context. Lexicality effects and the impact of two sub-lexical variables, that is cross-language orthographic markedness and congruency of grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPCs), were investigated in three tasks: L2 reading aloud and lexical decision, and L2-to-L1 translation. English words and nonwords were divided into three conditions: (a) marked condition in which items have an L2-specific orthographic pattern (e.g., town), (b) unmarked congruent condition in which items have an L1/L2 shared orthography and similar GPCs across languages (e.g., fast) and (c) unmarked incongruent condition that contains incongruent GPCs across languages (e.g., dirt). The results yielded a significant deficit in dyslexic readers in all three tasks, suggesting poor decoding but also poor lexical orthographic representations in L2 and difficulties in connecting form to semantic representations. This deficit was mostly observed for the unmarked incongruent conditi-on, highlighting the need to carefully manipulate the sub-lexical features of items when examining L2 reading. The results are discussed in relation to the cross-language transfer hypothesis and to mono- and bilingual models of reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Commissaire
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions (LPC-EA4440), Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Elisabeth Demont
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions (LPC-EA4440), Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
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Romanovska L, Bonte M. How Learning to Read Changes the Listening Brain. Front Psychol 2021; 12:726882. [PMID: 34987442 PMCID: PMC8721231 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.726882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Reading acquisition reorganizes existing brain networks for speech and visual processing to form novel audio-visual language representations. This requires substantial cortical plasticity that is reflected in changes in brain activation and functional as well as structural connectivity between brain areas. The extent to which a child's brain can accommodate these changes may underlie the high variability in reading outcome in both typical and dyslexic readers. In this review, we focus on reading-induced functional changes of the dorsal speech network in particular and discuss how its reciprocal interactions with the ventral reading network contributes to reading outcome. We discuss how the dynamic and intertwined development of both reading networks may be best captured by approaching reading from a skill learning perspective, using audio-visual learning paradigms and longitudinal designs to follow neuro-behavioral changes while children's reading skills unfold.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Milene Bonte
- *Correspondence: Linda Romanovska, ; Milene Bonte,
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Guan CQ, Li Y, Meng W, Morett LM. Curved vs. Straight-Line Handwriting Effects on Word Recognition in Typical and Dyslexic Readers Across Chinese and English. Front Psychol 2021; 12:745300. [PMID: 34777137 PMCID: PMC8580950 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Handwriting serves to link auditory and motor routines with visual word processing, which is a hallmark of successful reading. The current study aims to explore the effect of multisensory integration as a pathway to neural specialization for print among typical and dyslexic readers across writing systems. We identified 9-10-year-old dyslexic Chinese children (n = 24) and their typically developing counterparts (n = 24) on whom we conducted both behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) experiments. We designed four learning conditions: Handwriting Chinese (HC), Viewing Chinese (VC), Drawing followed by Character Recognition in Chinese (D-C), and Drawing followed by Word Recognition in English (D-E). In both handwriting and drawing conditions, we also designed curved vs. straight-line stimuli. Both behavioral and EEG results showed that handwriting straight line strokes facilitated visual word recognition in Chinese compared to handwriting curved lines. Handwriting conditions resulted in a lateralization of the N170 in typical readers, but not the dyslexic readers. Interestingly, drawing curved lines facilitate word recognition in English among dyslexic readers. Taken together, the results of the study suggest benefits of handwriting on the neural processing and behavioral performance in response to Chinese character recognition and curved-line drawing effects on English word recognition among dyslexic readers. But the lack of handwriting effects in dyslexic readers suggest that students who have deficits in reading may also be missing the link between multisensory integration and word recognition in the visual word form areas. The current study results have implications for maintaining handwriting practices to promote perception and motor integration for visual word form area development for normal readers and suggest that drawing practices might benefit Chinese dyslexic readers in reading English.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie Qun Guan
- Faculty of Foreign Studies, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
| | - Yifei Li
- School of Foreign Studies, Beijing University of Science and Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Wanjin Meng
- Institute of Moral Education, Psychology and Special Education, China National Institute of Education Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Laura M Morett
- Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Schmalz X, Schulte-Körne G, de Simone E, Moll K. What Do Artificial Orthography Learning Tasks Actually Measure? Correlations Within and Across Tasks. J Cogn 2021; 4:7. [PMID: 33511326 PMCID: PMC7805385 DOI: 10.5334/joc.144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial Orthography Learning (AOL) may act as a possible candidate to model the learning of print-to-speech correspondences. In order to serve as an adequate task, however, we need to establish whether AOL can be reliably measured. In the current study, we report the correlations between the learning of two different artificial orthographies by the same 55 participants. We also explore the correlation between AOL skill and other participant-level variables, namely Paired Associate Learning (PAL) performance, word and nonword reading ability, and age. We find high correlations between learning of two different artificial orthographies. Correlations with reading fluency and PAL are low. These results leave questions about the link between reading acquisition and AOL. At the same time, they show that AOL ability can be reliably measured and justify its use for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xenia Schmalz
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany
| | - Gerd Schulte-Körne
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany
| | - Elisabetta de Simone
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany
| | - Kristina Moll
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany
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Wang F, Karipidis II, Pleisch G, Fraga-González G, Brem S. Development of Print-Speech Integration in the Brain of Beginning Readers With Varying Reading Skills. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:289. [PMID: 32922271 PMCID: PMC7457077 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning print-speech sound correspondences is a crucial step at the beginning of reading acquisition and often impaired in children with developmental dyslexia. Despite increasing insight into audiovisual language processing, it remains largely unclear how integration of print and speech develops at the neural level during initial learning in the first years of schooling. To investigate this development, 32 healthy, German-speaking children at varying risk for developmental dyslexia (17 typical readers and 15 poor readers) participated in a longitudinal study including behavioral and fMRI measurements in first (T1) and second (T2) grade. We used an implicit audiovisual (AV) non-word target detection task aimed at characterizing differential activation to congruent (AVc) and incongruent (AVi) audiovisual non-word pairs. While children’s brain activation did not differ between AVc and AVi pairs in first grade, an incongruency effect (AVi > AVc) emerged in bilateral inferior temporal and superior frontal gyri in second grade. Of note, pseudoword reading performance improvements with time were associated with the development of the congruency effect (AVc > AVi) in the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) from first to second grade. Finally, functional connectivity analyses indicated divergent development and reading expertise dependent coupling from the left occipito-temporal and superior temporal cortex to regions of the default mode (precuneus) and fronto-temporal language networks. Our results suggest that audiovisual integration areas as well as their functional coupling to other language areas and areas of the default mode network show a different development in poor vs. typical readers at varying familial risk for dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Wang
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Iliana I Karipidis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Georgette Pleisch
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gorka Fraga-González
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Silvia Brem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Altarelli I, Dehaene-Lambertz G, Bavelier D. Individual differences in the acquisition of non-linguistic audio-visual associations in 5 year olds. Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12913. [PMID: 31608547 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12913] [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: 10/27/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Audio-visual associative learning - at least when linguistic stimuli are employed - is known to rely on core linguistic skills such as phonological awareness. Here we ask whether this would also be the case in a task that does not manipulate linguistic information. Another question of interest is whether executive skills, often found to support learning, may play a larger role in a non-linguistic audio-visual associative task compared to a linguistic one. We present a new task that measures learning when having to associate non-linguistic auditory signals with novel visual shapes. Importantly, our novel task shares with linguistic processes such as reading acquisition the need to associate sounds with arbitrary shapes. Yet, rather than phonemes or syllables, it uses novel environmental sounds - therefore limiting direct reliance on linguistic abilities. Five-year-old French-speaking children (N = 76, 39 girls) were assessed individually in our novel audio-visual associative task, as well as in a number of other cognitive tasks evaluating linguistic abilities and executive functions. We found phonological awareness and language comprehension to be related to scores in the audio-visual associative task, while no correlation with executive functions was observed. These results underscore a key relation between foundational language competencies and audio-visual associative learning, even in the absence of linguistic input in the associative task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Altarelli
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut Joliot, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif/Yvette, France.,Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,CNRS UMR 8240, Laboratory for the Psychology of Child Development and Education (LaPsyDE), University Paris Descartes, Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit U992, INSERM, CEA DRF/Institut Joliot, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Daphne Bavelier
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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