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Pediatric Research Oct 2022Literacy is a major social determinant of health, rooted in skills that develop during early childhood. Children arriving at kindergarten unprepared to learn to read are... (Review)
Review
Literacy is a major social determinant of health, rooted in skills that develop during early childhood. Children arriving at kindergarten unprepared to learn to read are more likely to have low reading proficiency thereafter. General and health literacy are highly correlated, affecting understanding of health conditions, treatment adherence, and transition to self-care and adult healthcare services. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends literacy and school readiness promotion during well-visits and neurodevelopmental surveillance is emphasized across primary and subspecialty care. While genetic and environmental risk factors for reading difficulties are well-established, risks related to complex and chronic medical conditions are less appreciated and under-researched. This review applies an eco-bio-developmental framework to explore literacy across five complex chronic conditions affecting millions of children worldwide: asthma, cancer, congenital heart disease, epilepsy, and sickle cell disease. In each, integration of an efficient reading brain network may be impacted by direct factors, such as ischemia, anesthesia, and/or medications, and also indirect factors, such as altered parent-child routines, hospital stays, and missed school. By integrating literacy into care management plans for affected children, pediatric primary care and specialty providers are poised to identify risks early, target guidance and interventions, and improve academic and health outcomes. IMPACT: While genetic and environmental risk factors for reading difficulties are well-established, risks related to complex and/or chronic medical conditions such as asthma, cancer, congenital heart disease, epilepsy, and sickle cell disease are substantial, less appreciated, and under-researched. General and health literacy are highly correlated, with implications for the understanding one's health condition, treatment adherence, and transitioning to self-care, which is especially important for children with complex and/or chronic illness. Pediatric primary care and specialty providers are poised to integrate reading and literacy into care management plans for children with complex and/or chronic illness, including early screening, guidance, support, and interventions.
Topics: Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; United States; Asthma; Chronic Disease; Pediatrics; Anemia, Sickle Cell; Dyslexia
PubMed: 35121848
DOI: 10.1038/s41390-022-01934-y -
Journal of AAPOS : the Official... Dec 2017Reading is a major life activity, as recognized by the US Congress in the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, and the education code of most US...
Reading is a major life activity, as recognized by the US Congress in the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, and the education code of most US states requires schools to evaluate reading and implement reading programs to addresses students' reading difficulties. Currently, such legislation is employed to identify accommodations needed for children with bilateral visual impairment and for children with dyslexia and/or related learning disabilities. Yet recent research has shown that children with the most common form of monocular visual impairment-amblyopia-read slowly. Slow reading can be detrimental to academic performance and learning, which in turn may affect self-esteem. Parents and educators can work together to implement accommodations (eg, extra time) to help amblyopic students succeed in their daily school tasks, and improve their performance on the timed, standardized tests that are critical for promotion and admission to magnet schools, TAG programs, high schools, and colleges. Children with other visual disorders that cause visual impairment in one eye (eg, glaucoma, cataract, trauma, etc) should also be considered for academic accommodations.
Topics: Accommodation, Ocular; Amblyopia; Child; Child, Preschool; Dyslexia; Educational Status; Humans; Infant; Ophthalmology; Pediatrics; Psychology, Child; Reading
PubMed: 28870794
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2017.06.013 -
Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular... Oct 2020Gerstmann syndrome is defined as a tetrad including agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia, and right-left disorientation. In the case studies presented in the literature,... (Review)
Review
Gerstmann syndrome is defined as a tetrad including agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia, and right-left disorientation. In the case studies presented in the literature, it has been reported that Gerstmann syndrome usually appears as an incomplete tetrad of symptoms or accompanied by cognitive deficits including aphasia, alexia, apraxia and some perceptual disorders. Here, we present of the patient with left angular and supramarginal gyrus infarction affecting the parietal lobe. In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, the patient had alexia and anomic aphasia as well. We discussed the clinic appearance and reviewed the current literature.
Topics: Agraphia; Anomia; Cerebral Infarction; Dyscalculia; Dyslexia; Gerstmann Syndrome; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Parietal Lobe
PubMed: 32912538
DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.105161 -
BMC Medical Genomics Sep 2023Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly associated with developmental dyslexia (DD), which are both prevalent and complicated pediatric...
BACKGROUND
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly associated with developmental dyslexia (DD), which are both prevalent and complicated pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders that have a significant influence on children's learning and development. Clinically, the comorbidity incidence of DD and ADHD is between 25 and 48%. Children with DD and ADHD may have more severe cognitive deficiencies, a poorer level of schooling, and a higher risk of social and emotional management disorders. Furthermore, patients with this comorbidity are frequently treated for a single condition in clinical settings, and the therapeutic outcome is poor. The development of effective treatment approaches against these diseases is complicated by their comorbidity features. This is often a major problem in diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we developed bioinformatical methodology for the analysis of the comorbidity of these two diseases. As such, the search for candidate genes related to the comorbid conditions of ADHD and DD can help in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the comorbid condition, and can also be useful for genotyping and identifying new drug targets.
RESULTS
Using the ANDSystem tool, the reconstruction and analysis of gene networks associated with ADHD and dyslexia was carried out. The gene network of ADHD included 599 genes/proteins and 148,978 interactions, while that of dyslexia included 167 genes/proteins and 27,083 interactions. When the ANDSystem and GeneCards data were combined, a total of 213 genes/proteins for ADHD and dyslexia were found. An approach for ranking genes implicated in the comorbid condition of the two diseases was proposed. The approach is based on ten criteria for ranking genes by their importance, including relevance scores of association between disease and genes, standard methods of gene prioritization, as well as original criteria that take into account the characteristics of an associative gene network and the presence of known polymorphisms in the analyzed genes. Among the top 20 genes with the highest priority DRD2, DRD4, CNTNAP2 and GRIN2B are mentioned in the literature as directly linked with the comorbidity of ADHD and dyslexia. According to the proposed approach, the genes OPRM1, CHRNA4 and SNCA had the highest priority in the development of comorbidity of these two diseases. Additionally, it was revealed that the most relevant genes are involved in biological processes related to signal transduction, positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoters, chemical synaptic transmission, response to drugs, ion transmembrane transport, nervous system development, cell adhesion, and neuron migration.
CONCLUSIONS
The application of methods of reconstruction and analysis of gene networks is a powerful tool for studying the molecular mechanisms of comorbid conditions. The method put forth to rank genes by their importance for the comorbid condition of ADHD and dyslexia was employed to predict genes that play key roles in the development of the comorbid condition. The results can be utilized to plan experiments for the identification of novel candidate genes and search for novel pharmacological targets.
Topics: Humans; Child; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Gene Regulatory Networks; Dyslexia; Comorbidity; Cell Movement
PubMed: 37667328
DOI: 10.1186/s12920-023-01502-1 -
Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain) 2017Adult dyslexia affects about 4% of the population. However, studies on the neurobiological basis of dyslexia in adulthood are scarce compared to paediatric studies. (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Adult dyslexia affects about 4% of the population. However, studies on the neurobiological basis of dyslexia in adulthood are scarce compared to paediatric studies.
AIM
This review investigates the neurobiological basis of dyslexia in adulthood.
DEVELOPMENT
Using PsycINFO, a database of psychology abstracts, we identified 11 studies on genetics, 9 neurostructural studies, 13 neurofunctional studies and 24 neurophysiological studies. Results from the review show that dyslexia is highly heritable and displays polygenic transmission. Likewise, adult neuroimaging studies found structural, functional, and physiological changes in the parieto-occipital and occipito-temporal regions, and in the inferior frontal gyrus, in adults with dyslexia.
CONCLUSION
According to different studies, aetiology in cases of adult dyslexia is complex. We stress the need for neurobiological studies of dyslexia in languages with transparent spelling systems.
Topics: Brain; Dyslexia; Humans; Language; Neurobiology; Neuroimaging; Reading
PubMed: 25444408
DOI: 10.1016/j.nrl.2014.08.003 -
Perceptual and Motor Skills Oct 2015The purpose of this theoretical analysis and synthesis is to indicate how left-eye sighting dominance may lead to reading failure through dysfunctional right hemisphere... (Review)
Review
The purpose of this theoretical analysis and synthesis is to indicate how left-eye sighting dominance may lead to reading failure through dysfunctional right hemisphere letter encoding. Differing compensatory strategies are postulated to lead to outcomes that include the development of the phonologically impaired and phonologically proficient subtypes of dyslexia as well as specific spelling disability. Evidence is presented indicating that these disorders might be prevented by delaying the introduction of letter writing until the age of 8 years. Early childhood speech categorization in children genetically at-risk of developing dyslexia is also considered from this perspective. Convergent support for this premature writing hypothesis is provided by a comparison with the development of the left-hand inverted writing posture.
Topics: Child; Dominance, Cerebral; Dyslexia; Functional Laterality; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Orientation; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Phonetics; Reaction Time; Reading; Risk Factors; Visual Perception
PubMed: 26474440
DOI: 10.2466/15.10.PMS.121c21x5 -
American Journal of Speech-language... Aug 2020Introduction The purpose of this study is to present three case studies of developmental dyslexia in dual-language learners (DLLs) and our assessment process. We... (Review)
Review
Introduction The purpose of this study is to present three case studies of developmental dyslexia in dual-language learners (DLLs) and our assessment process. We identify how phonological and orthographic deficits influence reading outcomes. We review the literature on theoretical models of bilingualism and reading models of developmental dyslexia to guide the assessment process through a multicomponential approach. We point out differences in the manifestation of dyslexia in more and less transparent writing systems. We suggest that reading instruction in Spanish can afford benefits to English-Spanish DLLs with developmental dyslexia. Method The study included three participants, two in fifth grade (10.3-11.7 years) and one in college (18.7 years). The assessment battery included reading nonwords and sight words (Test of Word Reading Efficiency); reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension (Gray Oral Reading Tests-Fourth Edition); phonological awareness subtests (Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing); and rapid automatized naming tests. A language and reading history interview was elicited from the mothers. In addition, we analyzed the participants' phonemic and word errors in reading. Results Our three participants showed core phonological deficits, with decreased performance in decoding nonwords and low accuracy in reading aloud. In spite of their reading and writing deficits, reading comprehension was within average levels for the three participants in this study. Conclusions We show the importance of assessing reading processes in students with a history of reading and writing problems. Our findings are based on three single case studies and are not generalizable. Our aim is to stimulate questions and research on dyslexia and the particular needs of DLLs.
Topics: Dyslexia; Humans; Language; Phonetics; Reading; Students
PubMed: 32750285
DOI: 10.1044/2020_AJSLP-19-00175 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Jan 2022Behavioral research supports the efficacy of intervention for reading disability, but the brain mechanisms underlying improvement in reading are not well understood.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Behavioral research supports the efficacy of intervention for reading disability, but the brain mechanisms underlying improvement in reading are not well understood. Here, we review 39 neuroimaging studies of reading intervention to characterize links between reading improvement and changes in the brain. We report evidence of changes in activation, connectivity, and structure within the reading network, and right hemisphere, frontal and sub-cortical regions. Our meta-analysis of changes in brain activation from pre- to post- reading intervention in eight studies did not yield any significant effects. Methodological heterogeneity among studies may contribute to the lack of significant meta-analytic findings. Based on our qualitative synthesis, we propose that brain changes in response to intervention should be considered in terms of interactions among distributed cognitive, linguistic and sensory systems, rather than via a "normalized" vs. "compensatory" dichotomy. Further empirical research is needed to identify effects of moderating factors such as features of intervention programs, neuroimaging tasks, and individual differences among participants.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Dyslexia; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuronal Plasticity
PubMed: 34856223
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.011 -
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Aug 2023Developmental dyslexia (DD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are highly comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Individuals with DD or ADHD have both...
BACKGROUND
Developmental dyslexia (DD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are highly comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Individuals with DD or ADHD have both been shown to have deficits in white matter tracts associated with reading and attentional control networks. However, white matter diffusivity in individuals comorbid with both DD and ADHD (DD + ADHD) has not been specifically explored.
METHODS
Participants were 3 and 4 graders (age range = 7 to 11 years; SD = 0.69) from three diagnostic groups ((DD (n = 40), DD + ADHD (n = 22), and typical developing (TD) (n = 20)). Behavioral measures of reading and attention alongside measures of white matter diffusivity were collected for all participants.
RESULTS
DD + ADHD and TD groups differed in mean fractional anisotropy (FA) for the left and right Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF)-Parietal Terminations and SLF-Temporal Terminations. Mean FA for the DD group across these SLF tracts fell between the lower DD + ADHD and higher TD averages. No differences in mean diffusivity nor significant brain-behavior relations were found.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that WM diffusivity in the SLF increases along a continuum across DD + ADHD, DD, and TD.
Topics: White Matter; Dyslexia; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Analysis of Variance; Attention; Humans; Child; Reading; Executive Function
PubMed: 37550628
DOI: 10.1186/s11689-023-09495-9 -
Behavioural Brain Research Jun 2017Developmental dyslexia is a heterogeneous condition entailing problems with reading and spelling. Several genes have been linked or associated to the disease, many of... (Review)
Review
Developmental dyslexia is a heterogeneous condition entailing problems with reading and spelling. Several genes have been linked or associated to the disease, many of which contribute to the development and function of brain areas important for auditory and phonological processing. Nonetheless, a clear link between genes, the brain, and the symptoms of dyslexia is still pending. The goal of this paper is contributing to bridge this gap. With this aim, we have focused on how the dyslexic brain fails to process speech sounds and reading cues. We have adopted an oscillatory perspective, according to which dyslexia may result from a deficient integration of different brain rhythms during reading/spellings tasks. Moreover, we show that some candidate genes for this condition are related to brain rhythms. This fresh approach is expected to provide a better understanding of the aetiology and the clinical presentation of developmental dyslexia, but also to achieve an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of the disease.
Topics: Brain; Circadian Rhythm; Dyslexia; Humans; Recognition, Psychology; Speech
PubMed: 28442358
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.03.048