Cracking the Code: The Impact of Orthographic Transparency and Morphological-Syllabic Complexity on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia

Finnish children born very preterm have good reading comprehension but weak reading fluency at age 11 years - a longitudinal cohort study

Children born very preterm (<32 gestational weeks and/or birth weight ≤1500 g) are at elevated risk for reading difficulties. This study aimed to investigate reading fluency and reading comprehension at 11 and to analyze the associations between literacy skills at 7 and reading skills at 11 in 134 Finnish-speaking very preterm children. At 11, reading fluency and reading comprehension were evaluated. At 7, pre-reading skills, decoding, and writing were assessed. Results showed that there were more preterm children with weak skills in reading fluency compared to a normative test population. Reading comprehension was age appropriate. Additionally, 62% to 68% of the children with weak literacy skills at 7 had weak reading fluency at 11, compared to those with more advanced skills (43% to 33%, p < 0.001 to 0.026). Respectively, 30% to 50% of the children with weak literacy at 7 had weak reading comprehension at 11 compared to those with more advanced skills (13% to 17%, p < 0.001 to 0.005). Findings highlight the importance of screening reading fluency until 11 years and providing support for the continuum between literacy skills in the beginning of schooling and reading outcome at later school age.

The tri-flow adaptiveness of codes in major evolutionary transitions

Life codes increase in both number and variety with biological complexity. Although our knowledge of codes is constantly expanding, the evolutionary progression of organic, neural, and cultural codes in response to selection pressure remains poorly understood. Greater clarification of the selective mechanisms is achieved by investigating how major evolutionary transitions reduce spatiotemporal and energetic constraints on transmitting heritable code to offspring. Evolution toward less constrained flows is integral to enduring flow architecture everywhere, in both engineered and natural flow systems. Beginning approximately 4 billion years ago, the most basic level for transmitting genetic material to offspring was initiated by protocell division. Evidence from ribosomes suggests that protocells transmitted comma-free or circular codes, preceding the evolution of standard genetic code. This rudimentary information flow within protocells is likely to have first emerged within the geo-energetic and geospatial constraints of hydrothermal vents. A broad-gauged hypothesis is that major evolutionary transitions overcame such constraints with tri-flow adaptations. The interconnected triple flows incorporated energy-converting, spatiotemporal, and code-based informational dynamics. Such tri-flow adaptations stacked sequence splicing code on top of protein-DNA recognition code in eukaryotes, prefiguring the transition to sexual reproduction. Sex overcame the spatiotemporal-energetic constraints of binary fission with further code stacking. Examples are tubulin code and transcription initiation code in vertebrates. In a later evolutionary transition, language reduced metabolic-spatiotemporal constraints on inheritance by stacking phonetic, phonological, and orthographic codes. In organisms that reproduce sexually, each major evolutionary transition is shown to be a tri-flow adaptation that adds new levels of code-based informational exchange. Evolving biological complexity is also shown to increase the nongenetic transmissibility of code.

Distinct parallel activation and interaction between dorsal and ventral pathways during phonological and semantic processing: A cTBS-fMRI study

Successful visual word recognition requires the integration of phonological and semantic information, which is supported by the dorsal and ventral pathways in the brain. However, the functional specialization or interaction of these pathways during phonological and semantic processing remains unclear. Previous research has been limited by its dependence on correlational functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results or causal validation using patient populations, which are susceptible to confounds such as plasticity and lesion characteristics. To address this, the present study employed continuous theta-burst stimulation combined with fMRI in a within-subject design to assess rapid adaptation in regional activity and functional connectivity of the dorsal and ventral pathways during phonological and semantic tasks. This assessment followed the precise inhibition of the left inferior parietal lobule and anterior temporal lobe in the dorsal and ventral pathways, respectively. Our results reveal that both the dorsal and ventral pathways were activated during phonological and semantic processing, while the adaptation activation and interactive network were modulated by the task type and inhibited region. The two pathways exhibited interconnectivity in phonological processing, and disruption of either pathway led to rapid adaptation across both pathways. In contrast, only the ventral pathway exhibited connectivity in semantic processing, and disruption of this pathway alone resulted in adaptive effects primarily in the ventral pathway. These findings provide essential evidence supporting the interactive theory, phonological information processing in particular, potentially providing meaningful implications for clinical populations.

The role of syllables and morphemes in silent reading: An eye-tracking study

German skilled readers have been found to engage in morphological and syllable-based processing in visual word recognition. However, the relative reliance on syllables and morphemes in reading multi-syllabic complex words is still unresolved. This study aimed to unveil which of these sublexical units are the preferred units of reading by employing eye-tracking technology. Participants silently read sentences while their eye-movements were recorded. Words were visually marked using colour alternation (Experiment 1) or hyphenation (Experiment 2)-at syllable boundary (e.g., Kir-schen), at morpheme boundary (e.g., Kirsch-en), or within the units themselves (e.g., Ki-rschen). A control condition without disruptions was used as a baseline (e.g., Kirschen). The results of Experiment 1 showed that eye-movements were not modulated by colour alternations. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that hyphens disrupting syllables had a larger inhibitory effect on reading times than hyphens disrupting morphemes, suggesting that eye-movements in German skilled readers are more influenced by syllabic than morphological structure.

Influence of transparency and opacity on the spelling of fricative phonemes

PURPOSE

(1) to verify to what extent the occurrence of possible errors is influenced by the relationship (opaque/transparent) between fricative phonemes and the graphemes with which they can be spelled; (2) verify the differences (if present or not) of relationship types among the phonemes that present common graphemic relationships.

METHODS

We analyzed 750 textual productions from children in the first year of Elementary School (ES), and conducted a survey of the frequency of correct answers and errors in all fricative phonemes of Brazilian Portuguese (BP).

RESULTS

The errors occurred in greater numbers in the group of phonemes with opaque spelling when compared with the number of errors in the group of phonemes with transparent spelling. In the first group, the errors showed a non-symmetrical behavior, since they varied according to the possibilities of graphemes for each phoneme. In the second group, the errors showed a symmetrical behavior.

CONCLUSION

Given the symmetry in the errors of the phonemes of the first group and the non-symmetry of those of the second group, our results point to a gradation in the occurrence of errors, which varies as a function of the transparency and degree of opacity in the relations between phonemes and graphemes of a same class.

Revisiting Multifactor Models of Dyslexia: Do They Fit Empirical Data and What Are Their Implications for Intervention?

Developmental dyslexia can be viewed as the result of the effects of single deficits or multiple deficits. This study presents a test of the applicability of a multifactor-interactive model (MFi-M) with a preliminary set of five variables corresponding to different neuropsychological functions involved in the reading process. The model has been tested on a sample of 55 school-age children with developmental dyslexia. The results show that the data fit a model in which each variable contributes to the reading ability in a non-additive but rather interactive way. These findings constitute a preliminary validation of the plausibility of the MFi-M, and encourage further research to add relevant factors and specify their relative weights. It is further discussed how subtype-based intervention approaches can be a suitable and advantageous framework for clinical intervention in a MFi-M perspective.

Translation and cultural adaptation of the HELPS Reading Fluency Program into Brazilian Portuguese: A report of systematic adaptation processes and initial evidence of efficacy

Introduction

Across multiples languages, research demonstrates the important relationship between reading fluency and comprehension. Put simply, a fluent reader has greater attention and memory resources to use higher-order functions in reading, resulting in better comprehension of text. Some reading fluency interventions have shown positive results in improving students' text reading fluency and comprehension; however, this research has predominantly been conducted with English-speaking students. For instance, until this report, a comprehensive search revealed only one prior study that evaluated an intervention strategy designed to improve students' reading fluency in Brazilian Portuguese and no prior studies evaluated an intervention program with that population of students.

Methods

The main goals of this two-part project were to (a) systematically translate, culturally adapt, and pilot test the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies (HELPS) reading fluency program for use in Brazilian Portuguese (referred to as, HELPS-PB); and (b) conduct a preliminary quasi-experimental study of the HELPS-PB program with 23 students in grades 3 to 5 who needed a reading fluency intervention.

Results and Discussion

This report documents the processes and successful adaptation of existing English- and Spanish-versions of HELPS into a new HELPS-PB program. It also offers preliminary evidence showing that students receiving HELPS-PB significantly improved their text reading fluency comparted to students in a control group. Implications for research, practice, and the adaptation of reading fluency programs into other languages are discussed.

Effects of orthographic transparency on rhyme judgement

This study investigated the influence of multiliteracy in opaque orthographies on phonological awareness. Using a visual rhyme judgement task in English, we assessed phonological processing in three multilingual and multiliterate populations who were distinguished by the transparency of the orthographies they can read in (N = 135; ages 18-40). The first group consisted of 45 multilinguals literate in English and a transparent Latin orthography like Malay; the second group consisted of 45 multilinguals literate in English and transparent orthographies like Malay and Arabic; and the third group consisted of 45 multilinguals literate in English, transparent orthographies, and Mandarin Chinese, an opaque orthography. Results showed that all groups had poorer performance in the two opaque conditions: rhyming pairs with different orthographic endings and non-rhyming pairs with similar orthographic endings, with the latter posing the greatest difficulty. Subjects whose languages consisted of half or more opaque orthographies performed significantly better than subjects who knew more transparent orthographies than opaque orthographies. The findings are consistent with past studies that used the visual rhyme judgement paradigm and suggest that literacy experience acquired over time relating to orthographic transparency may influence performance on phonological awareness tasks.

Event-related potential and lexical decision task in dyslexic adults: Lexical and lateralization effects

Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning disorder that presents cognitive and neurobiological impairments related to different patterns of brain activation throughout development, continuing in adulthood. Lexical decision tasks, together with electroencephalography (EEG) measures that have great temporal precision, allow the capture of cognitive processes during the task, and can assist in the understanding of altered brain activation processes in adult dyslexics. High-density EEG allows the use of temporal analyses through event-related potentials (ERPs). The aim of this study was to compare and measure the pattern of ERPs in adults with developmental dyslexia and good readers, and to characterize and compare reading patterns between groups. Twenty university adults diagnosed with developmental dyslexia and 23 healthy adult readers paired with dyslexics participated in the study. The groups were assessed in tests of intelligence, phonological awareness, reading, and writing, as well as through the lexical decision test (LDT). During LDT, ERPs were recorded using a 128-channel EEG device. The ERPs P100 occipital, N170 occipito-temporal, N400 centro-parietal, and LPC centro-parietal were analyzed. The results showed a different cognitive profile between the groups in the reading, phonological awareness, and writing tests but not in the intelligence test. In addition, the brain activation pattern of the ERPs was different between the groups in terms of hemispheric lateralization, with higher amplitude of N170 in the dyslexia group in the right hemisphere and opposite pattern in the control group and specificities in relation to the items of the LDT, as the N400 were more negative in the Dyslexia group for words, while in the control group, this ERP was more pronounced in the pseudowords. These results are important for understanding different brain patterns in developmental dyslexia and can better guide future interventions according to the changes found in the profile.

Modeling developmental changes in print tuning in a transparent alphabetic orthography

The development of print tuning involves the increased specificity and redundancy for orthographic representations. However, it is by no means clear how decoding accuracy and efficiency are related over the years and how it affects reading disability. In the present study, we monitored the development of accuracy and efficiency of decoding in Dutch as a relatively transparent orthography as a function of orthographic complexity and lexical status throughout the primary grades. There was clear evidence that development of decoding accuracy preceded development of decoding efficiency and that a certain threshold of accuracy is needed for decoding efficiency to evolve. Furthermore, it was shown that pseudoword decoding efficiency predicted growth in word decoding efficiency, especially for the higher levels of orthographic complexity. There was also evidence that accuracy precedes efficiency across different profiles of readers and that decoding strength can be defined as a function of orthographic complexity and lexicality.

Online Assessment of Morphological Awareness in Grades 2-4: Its Development and Relation to Reading Comprehension

The aims of the study are to construct an online instrument to assess different aspects of morphological awareness and to examine its development and its relation to reading comprehension in grades 2–4 in Hungarian children. Altogether, 4134 students were tested. The online test evaluated inflectional, derivational, and compound morphological skills with five subtests. The instrument proved to be reliable. CFA examinations revealed that the five subtests were empirically distinguishable dimensions. Inflectional, derivational, and compound morphology as the three main dimensions of morphological awareness were also empirically supported by our data. Morphological awareness skills improved significantly and developed in parallel with reading skills throughout grades 2–4. The increase in the development of morphological awareness from grade 2 to grade 3 tends to be faster than the growth between grade 3 and 4. Positive moderate correlations were found between morphological skills and reading comprehension and the relationships seem to be stable throughout the three grades. The most significant predictor of reading comprehension is the Affix Identification for Nonwords subtest. Our study showed that morphological awareness could be assessed efficiently through online media and drew attention to the importance of morphological awareness in the development of reading comprehension and linguistic intelligence.

Database of word-level statistics for Mandarin Chinese (DoWLS-MAN)

In this article we present the Database of Word-Level Statistics for Mandarin Chinese (DoWLS-MAN). The database addresses the lack of agreement in phonological syllable segmentation specific to Mandarin by offering phonological features for each lexical item according to 16 schematic representations of the syllable (8 with tone and 8 without tone). Those lexical statistics that differ per phonological word and nonword due to changes in syllable segmentation are of the variant category and include subtitle lexical frequency, phonological neighborhood density measures, homophone density, and network science measures. The invariant characteristics consist of each items' lexical tone, phonological transcription, and syllable structure among others. The goal of DoWLS-MAN is to provide researchers both the ability to choose stimuli that are derived from a segmentation schema that supports an existing model of Mandarin speech processing, and the ability to choose stimuli that allow for the testing of hypotheses on phonological segmentation according to multiple schemas. In an exploratory analysis we illustrate how multiple schematic representations of the phonological mental lexicon can aid in hypothesis generation, specifically in terms of phonological processing when reading Chinese orthography. Users of the database can search among over 92,000 words, over 1600 out-of-vocabulary Chinese characters, and 4300 phonological nonwords according to either Chinese orthography, pinyin, or ASCII phonetic script. Users can also generate a list of phonological words and nonwords according to user-defined ranges and categories of lexical characteristics. DoWLS-MAN is available to the public for search or download at https://dowls.site .

Remote Dyslexia Screening for Bilingual Children

Ideally, language and reading skills in bilingual children are assessed in both languages spoken in order to avoid misdiagnoses of communication or learning disorders. Due to limited capacity of clinical and educational staff, computerized screenings that allow for automatic evaluation of the children’s performance on reading tasks (accuracy and speed) might pose a useful alternative in clinical and school settings. In this study, a novel web-based screening platform for language and reading assessment is presented. This tool has been preliminarily validated with monolingual Italian, Mandarin–Italian and English–Italian speaking primary school children living and schooled in Italy. Their performances in the screening tasks in Italian and—if bilingual—in their native language were compared to the results of standardized/conventional reading assessment tests as well as parental and teacher questionnaires. Correlations revealed the tasks that best contributed to the identification of risk for the presence of reading disorders and showed the general feasibility and usefulness of the computerized screening. In a further step, both screening administrators (Examiners) and child participants (Examinees) were invited to participate in usability studies, which revealed general satisfaction and provided suggestions for further improvement of the screening platform. Based on these findings, the potential of the novel web-based screening platform is discussed.

A Universal Screening Tool for Dyslexia by a Web-Game and Machine Learning

Children with dyslexia have difficulties learning how to read and write. They are often diagnosed after they fail school even if dyslexia is not related to general intelligence. Early screening of dyslexia can prevent the negative side effects of late detection and enables early intervention. In this context, we present an approach for universal screening of dyslexia using machine learning models with data gathered from a web-based language-independent game. We designed the game content taking into consideration the analysis of mistakes of people with dyslexia in different languages and other parameters related to dyslexia like auditory perception as well as visual perception. We did a user study with 313 children (116 with dyslexia) and train predictive machine learning models with the collected data. Our method yields an accuracy of 0.74 for German and 0.69 for Spanish as well as a F1-score of 0.75 for German and 0.75 for Spanish, using Random Forests and Extra Trees, respectively. We also present the game content design, potential new auditory input, and knowledge about the design approach for future research to explore Universal screening of dyslexia. universal screening with language-independent content can be used for the screening of pre-readers who do not have any language skills, facilitating a potential early intervention.

Silent versus Reading Out Loud modes: An eye-tracking study

The main purpose of this study is to compare the silent and loud reading ability of typical and dyslexic readers, using eye-tracking technology to monitor the reading process. The participants (156 students of normal intelligence) were first divided into three groups based on their school grade, and each subgroup was then further separated into typical readers and students diagnosed with dyslexia. The students read the same text twice, one time silently and one time out loud. Various eye-tracking parameters were calculated for both types of reading. In general, the performance of the typical students was better for both modes of reading - regardless of age. In the older age groups, typical readers performed better at silent reading. The dyslexic readers in all age groups performed better at reading out loud. However, this was less prominent in secondary and upper secondary dyslexics, reflecting a slow shift towards silent reading mode as they age. Our results confirm that the eye-tracking parameters of dyslexics improve with age in both silent and loud reading, and their reading preference shifts slowly towards silent reading. Typical readers, before 4th grade do not show a clear reading mode preference, however, after that age they develop a clear preference for silent reading.

Orthographic depth and developmental dyslexia: a meta-analytic study

Cross-cultural studies have suggested that reading deficits in developmental dyslexia (DD) can be moderated by orthographic depth. To further explore this issue and assess the moderating role of orthographic depth in the developmental cognitive trajectories of dyslexic and typical readers, we systematically reviewed 113 studies on DD that were published from 2013 to 2018 and selected 79 in which participants received an official DD diagnosis. Each study was classified according to orthographic depth (deep vs. shallow) and participant age (children vs. adults). We assessed the difference between DD and control groups' performance in reading tasks and in a wide range of cognitive domains associated with reading (phonological awareness (PA), rapid automatized naming (RAN), short-term working memory (WM), and nonverbal reasoning), including age and orthographies as moderators. We found an age-by-orthography interaction effect in word reading accuracy and a significant effect of age in pseudoword reading accuracy, but we found no effect of age and orthographic depth on the fluency parameters. These results suggest that reading speed is a reliable index for discriminating between DD and control groups across European orthographies from childhood to adulthood. A similar pattern of results emerged for PA, RAN, and short-term/WM. Our findings are discussed in relation to their impact on clinical practice while considering the orthographic depth and developmental level.

An Early Reading Assessment Battery for Multilingual Learners in Malaysia

The aim of the study was to develop a new comprehensive reading assessment battery for multi-ethnic and multilingual learners in Malaysia. Using this assessment battery, we examined the reliability, validity, and dimensionality of the factors associated with reading difficulties/disabilities in the Malay language, a highly transparent alphabetic orthography. In order to further evaluate the reading assessment battery, we compared results from the assessment battery with those obtained from the Malaysian national screening instrument. In the study, 866 Grade 1 children from multi-ethnic and multilingual backgrounds from 11 government primary schools participated. The reading assessment battery comprised 13 assessments, namely, reading comprehension, spelling, listening comprehension, letter name knowledge, letter name fluency, rapid automatized naming, word reading accuracy, word reading efficiency, oral reading fluency, expressive vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, elision, and phonological memory. High reliability and validity were found for the assessments. An exploratory factor analysis yielded three main constructs: phonological-decoding, sublexical-fluency, and vocabulary-memory. Phonological-decoding was found to be the most reliable construct that distinguished between at-risk and non-at-risk children. Identifying these underlying factors will be useful for detecting children at-risk for developing reading difficulties in the Malay language. In addition, these results highlight the importance of including a range of reading and reading-related measures for the early diagnosis of reading difficulties in this highly transparent orthography.

Association Between Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Reading in Two Writing Systems in Japanese Children With and Without Developmental Dyslexia

Introduction: Japanese is unique, as it features two distinct writing systems that share the same sound and meaning: syllabic Hiragana and logographic Kanji scripts. Acquired reading difficulties in Hiragana and Kanji have been examined in older patients with brain lesions. However, the precise mechanisms underlying deficits in developmental dyslexia (DD) remain unclear.

Materials and Methods: The neural signatures of Japanese children with DD were examined by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We examined 22 dyslexic and 46 typically developing (TD) children, aged 7–14 years.

Results: Reading performance in each writing system was correlated with neural connectivity in TD children. In contrast, in children with DD, weak associations between neural connectivity and reading performance were observed. In TD children, Hiragana-reading fluency was positively correlated with the left fusiform gyrus network. No significant correlations between Hiragana fluency and neural connectivity were observed in children with DD. Correspondingly, there were fewer correlations between Kanji accuracy and strength of reading-related connectivity in children with DD, whereas positive correlations with the bilateral fronto-parietal network and negative correlations with the left fusiform network were found in TD children.

Discussion: These data suggest that positive and negative coupling with neural connectivity is associated with developing Japanese reading skills. Further, different neural connectivity correlations between Hiragana fluency and Kanji accuracy were detected in TD children but less in children with DD.

Conclusion: The two writing systems may exert differential effects and deficits on reading in healthy children and in children with DD, respectively.

Decoding and word recognition in English as a native and a foreign language in students with and without dyslexia (English vs. Polish students)

We aimed to investigate the relationship between reading difficulties in native language (NL: Polish) and English as a foreign language in dyslexia in English and Polish students, respectively, and to develop a model of relations between NL phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, verbal short-term memory, and reading in English. Thirteen English students with dyslexia (ED), 15 without (END) and 16 Polish students with dyslexia (PD) and 16 without (PND) participated. We found that dyslexic deficits and different phoneme-to-grapheme correspondence rules between Polish and English interfered with the accuracy and fluency of word and nonword decoding and word recognition. Whereas END scored higher than PD and PND in all reading measures, ED did not, despite a NL advantage. When compared with PND, ED performed equal in nonword decoding, which depends to a higher degree on phoneme-to-grapheme conversion rather than lexical access. When compared with PD, ED performed equally in nonword fluency, which is most likely a nonscript-dependant skill. More variance in reading was explained by NL than FL factors, even if analogical NL/FL skills predicted a given variable. While in ED and END, these relationships agreed with the literature; in PD and PND, NL phonological awareness was not beneficial for English as a foreign language reading.

Impact of Learning to Read in a Mixed Approach on Neural Tuning to Words in Beginning Readers

The impact of learning to read in a mixed approach using both the global and phonics teaching methods on the emergence of left hemisphere neural specialization for word recognition is yet unknown in children. Taking advantage of a natural school context with such a mixed approach, we tested 42 first graders behaviorally and with Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation using electroencephalographic recordings (FPVS-EEG) to measure selective neural responses to letter strings. Letter strings were inserted periodically (1/5) in pseudofonts in 40 s sequences displayed at 6 Hz and were either words globally taught at school, that could therefore be processed by visual whole-word form recognition (global method), or control words/pseudowords eliciting grapheme-phoneme (GP) mappings (phonics method). Results show that selective responses (F/5, 1.2 Hz) were left lateralized for control stimuli that triggered GP mappings but bilateral for globally taught words. It implies that neural mechanisms recruited during visual word processing are influenced by the nature of the mapping between written and spoken word forms. GP mappings induce left hemisphere discrimination responses, and visual recognition of whole-word forms induce bilateral responses, probably because the right hemisphere is relatively more involved in holistic visual object recognition. Splitting the group as a function of the mastery of GP mappings into "good" and "poor" readers strongly suggests that good readers actually processed all stimuli (including global words) predominantly with their left hemisphere, while poor readers showed bilateral responses for global words. These results show that in a mixed approach of teaching to read, global method instruction may induce neural processes that differ from those specialized for reading in the left hemisphere. Furthermore, given their difficulties in automatizing GP mappings, poor readers are especially prone to rely on this alternative visual strategy. A preprint of this paper has been released on Biorxiv (van de Walle de Ghelcke et al., 2018).