Al-Dahhan-Kirby-2020

Authors: Noor Z Al Dahhan, John R Kirby, Donald C Brien, Rina Gupta, Allyson Harrison, Douglas P Munoz.

Article: The Biological Basis Of Dyslexia At A Neural Systems Level.

Publication: Brain Communications (Oxford University Press). fcaa173 2020 | DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcaa173

[Full Text]

Abstract

We examined naming speed performance of 18 typically-achieving and 16 dyslexic adults while simultaneously recording eye movements, articulations, and fMRI data. Naming speed tasks, which require participants to name a list of letter or objects, have been proposed as a proxy for reading and are thought to recruit similar reading networks in the left-hemisphere of the brain as more complex reading tasks. We employed letter and object naming speed tasks, with task manipulations to make the stimuli more or less phonologically and/or visually similar. Compared to typically-achieving readers, readers with dyslexia had poorer behavioral naming speed task performance, longer fixation durations, more regressions, and increased activation in areas of the reading network in the left-hemisphere. Whereas increased network activation was positively associated with performance in dyslexics, it was negatively related to performance in typically-achieving readers. Readers with dyslexia had greater bilateral activation and recruited additional regions involved with memory, namely the amygdala and hippocampus; in contrast, the typically-achieving readers additionally activated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Areas within the reading network were differentially activated by stimulus manipulations to the naming speed tasks. There was less efficient naming speed behavioral performance, longer fixation durations, more regressions, and increased neural activity when letter stimuli were both phonologically and visually similar. Discussion focuses on the differences in activation within the reading network, how they are related to behavioral task differences, and how progress in furthering the understanding of the relationship between behavioral performance and brain activity can change the overall trajectories of children with reading difficulties by contributing to both early identification and remediation processes.

Tagged as: altbrain, eye movements, and fMRI

Citation:

Noor Z Al Dahhan, John R Kirby, Donald C Brien, Rina Gupta, Allyson Harrison, Douglas P Munoz, Understanding The Biological Basis Of Dyslexia At A Neural Systems Level, Brain Communications, , fcaa173, https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaa173

Leave a public question or comment:

If you need personal help or assistance please use our contact forms instead.


All comments are moderated. Comments that are not relevant to the page topic or which contain identifiable personal information will be removed.


Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *