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Acta Psychologica Jun 2024In recent decades, the connections between academic skills, such as reading, writing, and calculation, and motor skills/capacities have received increasing attention.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
In recent decades, the connections between academic skills, such as reading, writing, and calculation, and motor skills/capacities have received increasing attention. Many studies provided evidence for motor difficulties in children and adolescents with dyslexia, prompting the need for a meta-analysis to combine these multiple findings. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis using PsycINFO, Pubmed, and SportDiscus as scientific databases. A total of 572 studies were analyzed following several stringent inclusion criteria, resulting in the inclusion of 23 peer-reviewed studies in the final analysis. Our results showed that children and adolescents with dyslexia displayed significant different performances in multiple motor tasks and these differences persisted also when the type of motor task was considered as moderator in the analysis. The present findings are in accordance with the literature that supports a close connection between reading disabilities and difficulties in motor skills/capacities.
Topics: Humans; Dyslexia; Motor Skills; Child; Adolescent; Reading
PubMed: 38642452
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104269 -
International Journal of... Feb 2024This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess whether (i) significant differences exist in the N400 response to lexico-semantic tasks between typically... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess whether (i) significant differences exist in the N400 response to lexico-semantic tasks between typically developing (TD) readers and readers with dyslexia, and (ii) whether these differences are moderated by the modality of task presentation (visual vs. auditory), the type of task, age, or opaque orthography (shallow and transparent alphabets vs Chinese morpho-syllabary). Twenty studies were included in the meta-analysis, and the analysis did not demonstrate strong evidence of publication bias. An overall effect size of Hedge's g = 0.66, p < .001, was found between typically developing readers and readers with dyslexia. All moderators were found to be significant; larger effects were associated with visual modality (g = 0.692, p < .001), semantically incongruent sentence tasks (g = 0.948, p < .001), pseudowords/characters tasks (g = 0.971, p < .001), and orthography [Chinese (g = 1.015, p < .001) vs. alphabets (g = 0.539, p < .001)]. Analysis of reaction time showed Hedge's g = 1.613, p < .001. Results suggest that the N400 reliably differentiated between typically developing readers and readers with dyslexia. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Electroencephalography; Evoked Potentials; Dyslexia; Semantics; Language; Reading
PubMed: 38128616
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.112283 -
Stress and Health : Journal of the... Mar 2024Anxiety is one of the most prevalent problems that affects children and adolescents. The vast majority of diagnostic tools for anxiety depend on written or verbal... (Review)
Review
Anxiety is one of the most prevalent problems that affects children and adolescents. The vast majority of diagnostic tools for anxiety depend on written or verbal reports from children and adolescents or their significant others. The validity and reliability of such reports can be compromised by their subjective nature. Thus, there is growing interest in whether anxiety can be indexed with objective physiological measures. The key aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine which physiological measures are most reliably associated with elevated levels of anxiety amongst children and adolescents. Online databases (e.g., PsycINFO, Embase, Medline) were searched for relevant studies according to pre-determined criteria. Twenty-five studies comprising 2502 participants (N = 1160 with high anxiety) met inclusion, identifying 11 groups of physiological measures. Our meta-analysis revealed that skin conductance level is the most sensitive measure of anxiety (d = 0.83), followed by electromyography (EMG) measures (d = 0.71) and skin conductance response (d = 0.58). However, the included studies varied in terms of subjective measures, study designs, experimental task measures, and physiological measures. Consideration of these differences in methodology offer potential directions for future research.
PubMed: 38451702
DOI: 10.1002/smi.3388 -
Annals of Dyslexia Jul 2023Dyslexia is one of the most studied learning disorders. Despite this, its biological basis and main causes are still not fully understood. Electroencephalography (EEG)...
Dyslexia is one of the most studied learning disorders. Despite this, its biological basis and main causes are still not fully understood. Electroencephalography (EEG) could be a powerful tool in identifying the underlying mechanisms, but knowledge of the EEG correlates of developmental dyslexia (DD) remains elusive. We aimed to systematically review the evidence on EEG correlates of DD and establish their quality. In July 2021, we carried out an online search of the PubMed and Scopus databases to identify published articles on EEG correlates in children with dyslexia aged 6 to 12 years without comorbidities. We follow the PRISMA guidelines and assess the quality using the Appraisal Tool questionnaire. Our final analysis included 49 studies (14% high quality, 63% medium, 20% low, and 2% very low). Studies differed greatly in methodology, making a summary of their results challenging. However, some points came to light. Even at rest, children with dyslexia and children in the control group exhibited differences in several EEG measures, particularly in theta and alpha frequencies; these frequencies appear to be associated with learning performance. During reading-related tasks, the differences between dyslexic and control children seem more localized in the left temporoparietal sites. The EEG activity of children with dyslexia and children in the control group differed in many aspects, both at rest and during reading-related tasks. Our data are compatible with neuroimaging studies in the same diagnostic group and expand the literature by offering new insights into functional significance.
Topics: Child; Humans; Dyslexia; Reading; Electroencephalography; Learning Disabilities
PubMed: 36417146
DOI: 10.1007/s11881-022-00273-1 -
Journal of Learning Disabilities 2023Traditional static tests of reading and reading-related skills offer some ability to predict future reading performance, though such screeners may misclassify children... (Review)
Review
Traditional static tests of reading and reading-related skills offer some ability to predict future reading performance, though such screeners may misclassify children with or at risk of reading disorder (RD). Dynamic assessment (DA) is an alternative approach that measures learning potential and may be less dependent on learning background. A systematic review was carried out to examine the ability of DA to classify children with or at risk of RD. A database search yielded 14 eligible articles assessing DA of decoding, phonological awareness (PA), and working memory (WM). Results suggest that DA explains unique variance in the prediction of later RD status, and although models with a single dynamic predictor sometimes achieved good classification accuracy, this was enhanced somewhat by the addition of static predictors. Higher classification accuracy was found for DA targeting constructs more proximal to reading, particularly decoding, but the predictive power of DA of decoding and PA appeared to wane with increasing age as static measures explained more variance in outcomes. Some evidence emerged that DA provides benefits over static tests for the prediction of RD in bilingual students, though no studies examined outcomes by administration format or orthographic depth. Limitations and suggestions for future work are discussed.
Topics: Child; Humans; Dyslexia; Learning; Awareness; Students; Memory, Short-Term; Phonetics
PubMed: 36017540
DOI: 10.1177/00222194221117510 -
Annals of Dyslexia Apr 2024We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine if individuals with reading difficulties (RD), mathematics difficulties (MD), or unspecified learning... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine if individuals with reading difficulties (RD), mathematics difficulties (MD), or unspecified learning difficulties (ULD) experience internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal) to the same extent, and if the effect sizes are influenced by moderators (age, internalizing problems type, anxiety type, rater type, selection criteria, and attention control). We reviewed 2,806 studies published in English between January 2000 and April 2023. Our final sample consisted of 96 studies that reported effect sizes or data to calculate them (a total of 120 unique samples, 83,260 participants, age range = 7.3 - 34.8 years). Risk of bias and sensitivity were assessed. A random-effects model analysis revealed a significant and moderate overall effect size (Hedge's g = -.54), indicating that individuals with RD, MD or ULD experience more internalizing problems than their chronological-age (CA) controls. Follow-up analyses showed that neither learning difficulties type nor age of participants were significant moderators, but selection criteria (diagnosis versus screening) and internalizing problems type were. These findings suggest that individuals with RD do not differ from those with MD or ULD in internalizing problems, and all fare poorly compared to CA controls.
Topics: Humans; Child; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Reading; Dyslexia; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Mathematics
PubMed: 38135829
DOI: 10.1007/s11881-023-00294-4 -
Brain Sciences Mar 2024Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that presents a deficit in accuracy and/or fluency while reading or spelling that is not expected given the level of cognitive... (Review)
Review
Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that presents a deficit in accuracy and/or fluency while reading or spelling that is not expected given the level of cognitive functioning. Research indicates brain structural changes mainly in the left hemisphere, comprising arcuate fasciculus (AF) and corona radiata (CR). The purpose of this systematic review is to better understand the possible methods for analyzing Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data while accounting for the characteristics of dyslexia in the last decade of the literature. Among 124 articles screened from PubMed and Scopus, 49 met inclusion criteria, focusing on dyslexia without neurological or psychiatric comorbidities. Article selection involved paired evaluation, with a third reviewer resolving discrepancies. The selected articles were analyzed using two topics: (1) a demographic and cognitive assessment of the sample and (2) DTI acquisition and analysis. Predominantly, studies centered on English-speaking children with reading difficulties, with preserved non-verbal intelligence, attention, and memory, and deficits in reading tests, rapid automatic naming, and phonological awareness. Structural differences were found mainly in the left AF in all ages and in the bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus for readers-children and adults. A better understanding of structural brain changes of dyslexia and neuroadaptations can be a guide for future interventions.
PubMed: 38672001
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040349 -
Research in Developmental Disabilities Jun 2024Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have a high rate of co-occurring reading difficulties. The current study aims to (i) examine which factors within the... (Review)
Review
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have a high rate of co-occurring reading difficulties. The current study aims to (i) examine which factors within the Active View of Reading (AVR; Duke & Cartwright, 2021) apply to individuals with DLD and (ii) investigate other possible factors that relate to reading comprehension ability in individuals with DLD, outside the components in the AVR. Electronic database search and journal hand-search yielded 5058 studies published before March 2022 related to reading comprehension in children with DLD. 4802 articles were excluded during abstract screening, yielding 256 studies eligible for full-text review. Following full-text review, 44 studies were included and further coded for demographics, language of assessment, description of reported disabilities, behavioral assessment, and reading comprehension assessment. While the results aligned with the AVR model, three additional factors were identified as significantly relating to reading comprehension abilities in children with DLD: expressive language (oral and written), question types of reading assessment, and language disorder history. Specifically, expressive language was positively associated with reading comprehension ability, while resolved DLD showed higher reading comprehension abilities than persistent DLD. Furthermore, children with DLD may face additional difficulties in comprehending inference-based questions. This study provides factors for researchers, educators, and clinical professionals to consider when evaluating the reading comprehension of individuals with DLD. Future research should further explore the relative importance of factors of the AVR to reading comprehension outcomes throughout development.
Topics: Humans; Comprehension; Language Development Disorders; Reading; Child; Dyslexia
PubMed: 38663332
DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104731 -
Developmental Neuropsychology 2024This systematic review aimed to examine the possible implication of visual-perceptual, visuo-attentional and oculomotor processing in the reading deficits frequently... (Review)
Review
This systematic review aimed to examine the possible implication of visual-perceptual, visuo-attentional and oculomotor processing in the reading deficits frequently experienced by children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), as previously shown in dyslexia. Using PRISMA methodological guidelines, we examined 49 studies; most of these reported visual-processing deficits in this population, raising the importance of directly studying the visuo-perceptual and visuo-attentional processes and eye-movement control involved in the learning-to-read process in NF1. The discussion provides a reflection for a better understanding of how visual-processing skills interact with reading deficits in NF1, as well as new avenues for their screening and care.
Topics: Child; Humans; Reading; Neurofibromatosis 1; Dyslexia; Visual Perception; Learning
PubMed: 38469855
DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2024.2326151 -
Dyslexia (Chichester, England) Feb 2024In this systematic narrative review, we synthesised the small existing body of research on children who are gifted and dyslexic (G-D) in order to investigate the claim...
In this systematic narrative review, we synthesised the small existing body of research on children who are gifted and dyslexic (G-D) in order to investigate the claim that G-D students have a unique profile, characterised by well-masked word-level reading and spelling difficulties. Our focus was on both the cognitive and academic profiles of this subgroup of twice-exceptional (2e) children and the assessment protocols used to identify them. Findings suggest that despite having processing deficits associated with dyslexia, G-D students' gifted strengths, especially those relating to oral language, may enable them to compensate for their reading difficulties, at least to an extent that they fail to meet standard diagnostic criteria. However, G-D students also perform poorly on word-level reading, reading fluency and spelling tasks when compared with both control groups and their gifted, non-dyslexic peers, providing clear evidence of impaired achievement. Findings from this review highlight the need for (a) a more nuanced approach to the assessment of students presenting with highly discrepant profiles and (b) future research into both the cognitive and academic profiles and the instructional needs of this highly able yet poorly understood group of students, whose potential may be masked and thus underestimated in the school setting.
Topics: Child; Humans; Dyslexia; Child, Gifted; Reading; Language; Cognition
PubMed: 38232949
DOI: 10.1002/dys.1763