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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 -
International Journal of Language &... Jan 2021People with aphasia (PWA) frequently present impairments in reading comprehension. Such impairments can be particularly debilitating due to the limitations and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
People with aphasia (PWA) frequently present impairments in reading comprehension. Such impairments can be particularly debilitating due to the limitations and constraints they impose on everyday life. Recent technological advancements in the field of information and communication technologies offer many compensative tools for PWA. However, most technological tools are designed for patients with speech production impairments. Instruments addressing reading impairments associated with aphasia remain scarce and underrepresented in the scientific literature.
AIMS
To conduct a state-of-the-art review of the technologies currently available to PWA and acquired reading impairments. In particular, this review covers (1) research on technologies explicitly developed to compensate for reading difficulties associated with aphasia; and (2) research into which accessibility features included in mainstream high-tech systems are helpful for PWA when trying to access written material.
METHODS & PROCEDURES
Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) international standard, the authors conducted a systematic review from 2009 to 2019. The databases inspected were Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, the Cochrane collection, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect and SpringerLink. Other research papers were included after checking the references of the selected papers.
MAIN CONTRIBUTION
The review reveals that research on compensative devices for reading impairments largely neglects tools for individuals with aphasia and acquired reading difficulties. Most of the studies in this field are qualitative investigations of how patients with literacy difficulties tackle everyday tasks with the help of mainstream technology (e.g., smartphone applications). Therefore, this paper highlights the scarce high-tech alternatives that support text comprehension in PWA and acquired reading impairments, and suggests further work on the development of customized software for smartphones and personal computers.
CONCLUSIONS
High-tech reading tools may help PWA to regain reading autonomy. PWA and acquired reading impairments employ a wide array of devices to overcome reading difficulties, which underlines the importance of reading in everyday life. However, the supports currently available are not yet flexible and accurate enough to answer their day-to-day needs. Thus, further work is necessary to enhance the compensative devices available to them. For instance, existing new technologies in the area of natural language processing (such as automatic text simplification) could potentially be used in compensative devices. What this paper adds What is already known on the subject Most research on high-tech compensative reading tools is focused on investigating how patients with aphasia and acquired reading impairments cope with their reading difficulties in everyday life by resorting to different types of technology. Yet, we still lack specific research on compensative reading technology for PWA. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This review shows that PWA with acquired reading impairments are offered limited options for accessing written content easily and autonomously-and those few resources that are available are not specifically designed for PWA. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Both aphasia and acquired reading impairments can vary in terms of both their severity and the associated typology of cognitive impairments. Therefore, it might be interesting to investigate flexible and highly adaptable reading support designed for them-and innovations in the field of information and communication technology might prove particularly fruitful.
Topics: Aphasia; Comprehension; Dyslexia; Humans; Reading; Writing
PubMed: 32918536
DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12569 -
Cognitive Neuropsychology May 2021Visual words and faces differ in their structural properties, but both are objects of high expertise. Holistic processing is said to characterize expert face... (Review)
Review
Visual words and faces differ in their structural properties, but both are objects of high expertise. Holistic processing is said to characterize expert face recognition, but the extent to which whole-word processes contribute to word recognition is unclear, particularly as word recognition is thought to proceed by a component-based process. We review the evidence for experimental effects in word recognition that parallel those used to support holistic face processing, namely inversion effects, the part-whole task, and composite effects, as well as the status of whole-word processing in pure alexia and developmental dyslexia, contrasts between familiar and unfamiliar languages, and the differences between handwriting and typeset font. The observations support some parallels in whole-object influences between face and visual word recognition, but do not necessarily imply similar expert mechanisms. It remains to be determined whether and how the relative balance between part-based and whole-object processing differs for visual words and faces.
Topics: Alexia, Pure; Facial Recognition; Humans; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Visual Perception; Word Processing
PubMed: 34529548
DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2021.1974369 -
Neuropsychologia Jul 2019
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Dyslexia; Humans; Reading
PubMed: 31194982
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.06.003 -
Zhurnal Nevrologii I Psikhiatrii Imeni... 2023The review is devoted to one of the current problems of pediatric neurology - reading and writing disorders in children as part of a partial developmental disorder. With...
The review is devoted to one of the current problems of pediatric neurology - reading and writing disorders in children as part of a partial developmental disorder. With the development of neuroscience, the paradigm of «brain damage» in the understanding of a number of pathological conditions was replaced by the concept of «evolutionary neurology». The dominance of the ontogenetic approach caused the appearance of a new section in ICD-11 - «Neurodevelopmental disorders». Twenty-one genes associated with the acquisition of reading and writing skills have been identified. Modern studies demonstrate the connection of neuropsychological prerequisites for reading and writing, and clinical phenotypes of dyslexia with changes in specific loci. It is assumed that there are different molecular genetic bases for dyslexia and dysgraphia depending on ethnicity, orthographic features of language, including logographic features. Pleiotropy of genes is a cause of comorbidity of reading and writing disorders with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, specific speech articulation disorders, and dyscalculia. A key function of many of the identified genes is their involvement in the processes of neurogenesis. Their dysfunctions cause atypical neuronal migration, ectopic formation, inadequate axonal growth, and dendrite branching at the early stage of brain development. Morphological changes can distort the correct distribution and/or integration of linguistic stimuli in critical brain areas, leading to abnormalities in phonology, semantics, spelling, and general reading comprehension. The knowledge gained can form the basis for the development of risk models for dysgraphia and dyslexia formation and be used as a diagnostic and/or screening tool, which is important for evidence-based correction, optimization of academic performance, and mitigation of psychosocial consequences.
Topics: Humans; Agraphia; Dyslexia; Genetic Background; Brain; Language
PubMed: 37315241
DOI: 10.17116/jnevro202312305148 -
Dyslexia (Chichester, England) Feb 2020Auditory frequency discrimination has been used as an index of sensory processing in developmental language disorders such as dyslexia, where group differences have... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Auditory frequency discrimination has been used as an index of sensory processing in developmental language disorders such as dyslexia, where group differences have often been interpreted as evidence for a basic deficit in auditory processing that underpins and constrains individual variability in the development of phonological skills. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the cumulative evidence for group differences in frequency discrimination and to explore the impact of some potential moderator variables that could contribute to variability in effect-size estimations across studies. Our analyses revealed mean effect sizes for group differences on frequency discrimination tasks on the order of three-quarters of a standard deviation, but in the presence of substantial inter-study variability in their magnitude. Moderator variable analyses indicated that factors related both to participant variability on behavioural and cognitive variables associated with the dyslexia phenotype, and to variability in the task design, contributed to differences in the magnitude of effect size across studies. The apparently complex pattern of results was compounded by the lack of concurrent, standardised metrics of cognitive and reading component skills across the constituent studies. Differences on sensory processing tasks are often reported in studies of developmental disorders, but these need to be more carefully interpreted in the context of non-sensory factors, which may explain significant inter- and intra-group variance in the dependent measure of interest.
Topics: Auditory Perception; Cognition; Dyslexia; Humans; Language Development Disorders; Linguistics
PubMed: 31877576
DOI: 10.1002/dys.1645 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2023This research was aimed to investigate changes in the reading technique and in terms of its semantic charge in primary schoolers diagnosed with dyslexia, which occur as...
This research was aimed to investigate changes in the reading technique and in terms of its semantic charge in primary schoolers diagnosed with dyslexia, which occur as a result of the integrated use of speech therapy techniques. The study was performed between 2016 and 2019 in 6 schools of Moscow and Almaty. It enrolled 194 and 200 children, respectively, who were examined with form I to III inclusive. The study revealed that 13% of children had reading speed disorders; they were constituted group 1. Another 11% had reading comprehension disorders; they constituted group 2. In group 1, by form III, the number of reading repetitions increased twofold. In group 2, the number of children, who read in words and phrases, increased by half; in group 1, it doubled. This research showed clear progress in children with technical dyslexia vs. those with semantic dyslexia. Based on the results, it is possible to develop a methodology for speech therapy techniques that can be suitable not only for speech therapists, but also for primary school teachers, as well as for parents of dyslectic children.
Topics: Child; Humans; Speech Therapy; Dyslexia; Reading; Comprehension; Semantics; Speech
PubMed: 36949067
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31631-7 -
Research in Developmental Disabilities Mar 2024Rule learning (RL) is the ability to extract and generalize higher-order repetition-based structures. Children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) often report difficulties...
BACKGROUND
Rule learning (RL) is the ability to extract and generalize higher-order repetition-based structures. Children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) often report difficulties in learning complex regularities in sequential stimuli, which might be due to the complexity of the rule to be learned. Learning high-order repetition-based rules represents a building block for the development of language skills.
AIMS
This study investigates the ability to extract and generalize simple, repetition-based visual rules (e.g., ABA) in 8-11-year-old children without (TD) and with a diagnosis of Development Dyslexia (DD) and its relationship with language and reading skills.
METHOD
Using a forced-choice paradigm, children were first exposed to a visual sequence containing a repetition-based rule (e.g., ABA) and were then asked to recognize familiar and novel rules generated by new visual elements. Standardized language and reading tests were also administered to both groups.
RESULTS
The accuracy in recognizing rules was above chance for both groups, even though DD children were less accurate than TD children, suggesting a less efficient RL mechanism in the DD group. Moreover, visual RL was positively correlated with both language and reading skills.
CONCLUSION
These results further confirm the crucial role of RL in the acquisition of linguistic skills and mastering reading abilities.
Topics: Child; Humans; Dyslexia; Reading; Cognition; Language; Spatial Learning
PubMed: 38280272
DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104673 -
JAMA Network Open Oct 2022Developmental dyslexia is a heritable learning disability affecting 7% to 10% of the general population and can have detrimental impacts on mental health and vocational...
IMPORTANCE
Developmental dyslexia is a heritable learning disability affecting 7% to 10% of the general population and can have detrimental impacts on mental health and vocational potential. Individuals with dyslexia show altered functional organization of the language and reading neural networks; however, it remains unknown how early in life these neural network alterations might emerge.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the early emergence of large-scale neural functional connectivity (FC) underlying long-term language and reading development is altered in infants with a familial history of dyslexia (FHD).
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This cohort study included infants recruited at Boston Children's Hospital between May 2011 and February 2019. Participants underwent structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in the Department of Radiology at Boston Children's Hospital. Infants with FHD were matched with infants without FHD based on age and sex. Data were analyzed from April 2019 to June 2021.
EXPOSURES
FHD was defined as having at least 1 first-degree relative with a dyslexia diagnosis or documented reading difficulties.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Whole-brain FC patterns associated with 20 predefined cerebral regions important for long-term language and reading development were computed for each infant. Multivariate pattern analyses were applied to identify specific FC patterns that differentiated between infants with vs without FHD. For classification performance estimates, 99% CIs were calculated as the classification accuracy minus chance level.
RESULTS
A total of 98 infants (mean [SD] age, 8.5 [2.3] months; 51 [52.0%] girls) were analyzed, including 35 infants with FHD and 63 infants without FHD. Multivariate pattern analyses identified distinct FC patterns between infants with vs without FHD in the left fusiform gyrus (classification accuracy, 0.55 [99% CI, 0.046-0.062]; corrected P < .001; Cohen d = 0.76). Connections linking left fusiform gyrus to regions in the frontal and parietal language and attention networks were among the paths with the highest contributions to the classification performance.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
These findings suggest that on the group level, FHD was associated with an early onset of atypical FC of regions important for subsequent word form recognition during reading acquisition. Longitudinal studies linking the atypical functional network and school-age reading abilities will be essential to further elucidate the ontogenetic mechanisms underlying the development of dyslexia.
Topics: Child; Infant; Female; Humans; Male; Brain Mapping; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Cohort Studies; Dyslexia; Reading
PubMed: 36301547
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.36102 -
NeuroRehabilitation 2021A specific learning disability comes with a cluster of deficits in the neurocognitive domain. Phonological processing deficits have been the core of different types of... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
A specific learning disability comes with a cluster of deficits in the neurocognitive domain. Phonological processing deficits have been the core of different types of specific learning disabilities. In addition to difficulties in phonological processing and cognitive deficits, children with specific learning disability (SLD) are known to have deficits in more innate non-language-based skills like musical rhythm processing.
OBJECTIVES
This paper reviews studies in the area of musical rhythm perception in children with SLD. An attempt was made to throw light on beneficial effects of music and rhythm-based intervention and their underlying mechanism.
METHODS
A hypothesis-driven review of research in the domain of rhythm deficits and rhythm-based intervention in children with SLD was carried out.
RESULTS
A summary of the reviewed literature highlights that music and language processing have shared neural underpinnings. Children with SLD in addition to difficulties in language processing and other neurocognitive deficits are known to have deficits in music and rhythm perception. This is explained in the background of deficits in auditory skills, perceptuo-motor skills and timing skills. Attempt has been made in the field to understand the effect of music training on the children's auditory processing and language development. Music and rhythm-based intervention emerges as a powerful intervention method to target language processing and other neurocognitive functions. Future studies in this direction are highly underscored.
CONCLUSIONS
Suggestions for future research on music-based interventions have been discussed.
Topics: Articulation Disorders; Auditory Perception; Child; Dyslexia; Female; Humans; Language; Learning Disabilities; Male; Motor Skills; Music
PubMed: 33664156
DOI: 10.3233/NRE-208013