M-stream deficits and reading-related visual processes in developmental dyslexia.

Some visual processing deficits in developmental dyslexia have been attributed to abnormalities in the subcortical M stream and/or the cortical dorsal stream of the visual pathways. The nature of the relationship between these visual deficits and reading is unknown. The purpose of the present article was to characterize reading-related perceptual processes that may link the visual deficits to reading problems. We identified contrast sensitivity, position encoding, oculomotor control, visual attention, parafoveal/foveal interactions, and saccadic suppression as potential reading-related dorsal stream processes. We then evaluated the role of each process in reading and the status of each process in dyslexia. In theory, a number of dorsal stream processes (e.g., oculomotor control and visual attention) might contribute to reading problems in developmental dyslexia. More work is needed to demonstrate the connection empirically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Components of effective remediation for developmental reading disabilities: Combining phonological and strategy-based instruction to improve outcomes.

The efficacy of a combination of phonological and strategy-based remedial approaches for reading disability (RD) was compared with that of each approach separately. Eighty-five children with severe RD were randomly assigned to 70 intervention hours in 1 of 5 sequences: PHAB/DI (Phonological Analysis and Blending/Direct Instruction)?→?WIST (Word Identification Strategy Training), WIST?→?PHAB/DI, PHAB/DI?×?2, WIST?×?2, or CSS?→?MATH (Classroom Survival Skills - Math, a control treatment). Performance was assessed before, 3 times during, and after intervention. Four orthogonal contrasts based on a linear trend analysis model were evaluated. There were generalized treatment effects on standardized measures of word identification, passage comprehension, and nonword reading. A combination of PHAB/DI and WIST proved superior to either program alone on nonword reading, letter-sound and keyword knowledge, and 3 word identification measures. Generalization of nonword decoding to real word identification was achieved with a combination of effective remedial components. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding chinese developmental dyslexia: Morphological awareness as a core cognitive construct.

Tasks representing 9 cognitive constructs of potential importance to understanding Chinese reading development and impairment were administered to 75 children with dyslexia and 77 age-matched children without reading difficulties in 5th and 6th grade. Logistic regression analyses revealed that dyslexic readers were best distinguished from age-matched controls with tasks of morphological awareness, speeded number naming, and vocabulary skill; performance on tasks of visual skills or phonological awareness failed to distinguish the groups. Path analyses further revealed that a construct of morphological awareness was the strongest consistent predictor of a variety of literacy-related skills across both groups. Findings suggest that morphological awareness may be a core theoretical construct necessary for explaining variability in reading Chinese. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On subtypes of developmental dyslexia: Evidence from processing time and accuracy scores.

Determined the proportion of phonological dyslexics (Ph-DYS) and surface dyslexics (S-DYS) in a population of French dyslexics by applying A. Castles and M. Coltheart's (1993) regression method to 2 diagnostic measures: pseudo-word and irregular-word processing time. 31 dyslexics were matched to 19 average readers of the same age (aged 10 yrs, CA controls) and to 19 younger children of the same reading level (aged 8 yrs, RL controls). Compared to CA controls, there were more Ph-DYS than S-DYS. Compared to RL controls, there were still a high number of Ph-DYS. The reliability of these subtypes across different measures of phonological and orthographic skills was also examined. Compared to RL controls, both groups of dyslexics were found to be impaired only in phonological skills. The moment at which the 2 dissociated profiles emerged in the course of cognitive development was assessed by examining data that was collected when the children were 7 and 8 yrs old. The results show that only the S-DYS's orthographic deficit increased with development. The authors also looked at whether the Ph-DYS and S-DYS profiles were associated with other specific cognitive deficits. Specific deficits in phonemic awareness and in phonological short-term memory were found for both Ph-DYS and S-DYS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of specific deficits: Evidence of transfer in disabled and normal readers following oral-motor awareness training.

In an analysis of training procedures designed to address specific phonological deficits in disabled readers, 24 6- to 8-year-olds (reading disabled, age-matched controls, reading-level-matched controls) participated in both a reading and music acquisition paradigm. Children received instruction in grapheme-articulation and symbol-note correspondence patterns and, in the reading task, were taught to connect printed letter clusters with underlying oral-motor activity. Posttest results revealed that all groups of children were successful in the music task and in transferring sublexical segments representing trained reading rules, but disabled and young, normal readers were less able to read complete real and nonsense words. Disabled readers who demonstrated deficits specific to word identification learning revealed their ability to profit from rule-based instruction in symbol-to-note correspondence patterns and print-to-articulation relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experience-dependent recovery of cognitive deficits in alcoholics: Extended transfer of training.

Some neuropsychological deficits recover spontaneously after alcoholics cease drinking, probably because of biological (time-dependent) processes, whereas recent studies have shown that other, more persistent deficits recover only after specific remediation (experience dependent). Recovery in these latter studies has, however, been restricted to a single transfer task highly similar to the training task. The critical demonstration that remediation induces recovery of central information-processing capacity requires transfer of training to tasks varying in content and format from the training task. To this end, two alcoholic groups (N?=?36) were given four practice sessions with a visuospatial training task, beginning at different time lags postdrinking, and then tested on a battery of transfer tasks. Another alcoholic group (N?=?18) and a matched nonalcoholic group (N?=?16) were tested once on the transfer battery to provide comparison points. This design demonstrated the lack of time-dependent recovery on these tasks over 30 days as well as the presence of experience-dependent recovery on the training task. Most important, wide-ranging transfer was observed to all five visuospatial transfer tasks, indicating enhanced information processing. Recovery was modality specific, however, in that transfer to the tactual-spatial task was not dramatic. This methodology may offer a means of enhancing alcoholism treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing traditional and integrative learning methods in organizational training programs.

Previous research and anecdotal reports have suggested that when certain teaching approaches are used, students not only learn more but also experience greater satisfaction with the training process. This study examined the effects of integrative-learning (IL)-based training in relation to lecture-based training. Employees enrolled in a 3-day manufacturing resource planning training course were randomly assigned to either IL or traditional training. Ss reacted more favorably to IL-based training. Trained Ss performed significantly better than those in a no-treatment control group, but no differences were noted between training interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Absolute pitch in infant auditory learning: Evidence for developmental reorganization.

To what extent do infants represent the absolute pitches of complex auditory stimuli? Two experiments with 8-month-old infants examined the use of absolute and relative pitch cues in a tone-sequence statistical learning task. The results suggest that, given unsegmented stimuli that do not conform to the rules of musical composition, infants are more likely to track patterns of absolute pitches than of relative pitches. A 3rd experiment tested adults with or without musical training on the same statistical learning tasks used in the infant experiments. Unlike the infants, adult listeners relied primarily on relative pitch cues. These results suggest a shift from an initial focus on absolute pitch to the eventual dominance of relative pitch, which, it is argued, is more useful for both music and speech processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic involvement in reading aloud: Evidence from a nonword training study.

The current research uses a novel methodology to examine the role of semantics in reading aloud. Participants were trained to read aloud 2 sets of novel words (i.e., nonwords such as bink): some with meanings (semantic) and some without (nonsemantic). A comparison of reading aloud performance between these 2 sets of novel words was used to provide an indicator of the importance of semantic information in reading aloud. In Experiment 1, in contrast to expectations, reading aloud performance was not better for novel words in the semantic condition. In Experiment 2, the training of novel words was modified to reflect more realistic steps of lexical acquisition: Reading aloud performance became faster and more accurate for novel words in the semantic condition, but only for novel words with inconsistent pronunciations. This semantic advantage for inconsistent novel words was again observed when a subset of participants from Experiment 2 was retested 6-12 months later (in Experiment 3). These findings provide support for a limited but significant role for semantics in the reading aloud process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Active learning: Effects of core training design elements on self-regulatory processes, learning, and adaptability.

This article describes a comprehensive examination of the cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes underlying active learning approaches; their effects on learning and transfer; and the core training design elements (exploration, training frame, emotion control) and individual differences (cognitive ability, trait goal orientation, trait anxiety) that shape these processes. Participants (N = 350) were trained to operate a complex, computer-based simulation. Exploratory learning and error-encouragement framing had a positive effect on adaptive transfer performance and interacted with cognitive ability and dispositional goal orientation to influence trainees' metacognition and state goal orientation. Trainees who received the emotion-control strategy had lower levels of state anxiety. Implications for development of an integrated theory of active learning, learner-centered design, and research extensions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Double dissociation of functions in developmental dyslexia and dyscalculia.

This work examines the association between symbols and their representation in adult developmental dyscalculia and dyslexia. Experiment 1 used comparative judgment of numerals, and it was found that in physical comparisons (e.g., 3-5 vs. 3-5) the dyscalculia group showed a significantly smaller congruity effect than did the dyslexia and the control groups. Experiment 2 used Navon figures (D. Navon, 1977) in Hebrew, and participants were asked to name the large or the small letters. Phoneme similarity modulated performance of the control and the dyscalculia groups and showed a very small effect in the dyslexia group. This suggests that the dyscalculia population has difficulties in automatically associating numerals with magnitudes but no problems in associating letters with phonemes, whereas the dyslexia population shows the opposite pattern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory training in older adults: Evidence of transfer and maintenance effects.

Few studies have examined working memory (WM) training-related gains and their transfer and maintenance effects in older adults. This present research investigates the efficacy of a verbal WM training program in adults aged 65–75 years, considering specific training gains on a verbal WM (criterion) task as well as transfer effects on measures of visuospatial WM, short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and fluid intelligence. Maintenance of training benefits was evaluated at 8-month follow-up. Trained older adults showed higher performance than did controls on the criterion task and maintained this benefit after 8 months. Substantial general transfer effects were found for the trained group, but not for the control one. Transfer maintenance gains were found at follow-up, but only for fluid intelligence and processing speed tasks. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive plasticity in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of rater training programs: Error training and accuracy training.

108 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups to rate videotaped performances of several managers talking with a problem subordinate. The research employed a single-factor experimental design in which rater error training (RET), rater accuracy training (RAT), rating error and accuracy training (RET/RAT), and no training were compared for 2 rating errors (halo and leniency) and accuracy of performance evaluations. Differences in program effectiveness for various performance dimensions were also assessed. Results show that RAT yielded the most accurate ratings and no-training the least accurate ratings. The presence of error training (RET or RET/RAT) was associated with reduced halo, but the presence of accuracy training (RAT or RET/RAT) was associated with less leniency. Dimensions?×?Training interactions revealed that training was not uniformly effective across the rating dimensions. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonology, reading acquisition, and dyslexia: Insights from connectionist models.

The development of reading skill and bases of developmental dyslexia were explored using connectionist models. Four issues were examined: the acquisition of phonological knowledge prior to reading, how this knowledge facilitates learning to read, phonological and nonphonological bases of dyslexia, and effects of literacy on phonological representation. Compared with simple feedforward networks, representing phonological knowledge in an attractor network yielded improved learning and generalization. Phonological and surface forms of developmental dyslexia, which are usually attributed to impairments in distinct lexical and nonlexical processing "routes," were derived from different types of damage to the network. The results provide a computationally explicit account of many aspects of reading acquisition using connectionist principles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rate and timing precision of motor coordination in developmental dyslexia.

Temporal characteristics of interlimb coordination were examined in adolescents and young adults with developmental dyslexia, matched normal control subjects, and matched learning disabled adolescent students without reading difficulties. Subjects were asked to tap in time to an entraining metronome at each of 3 prescribed rates by moving the index fingers of both hands in unison, in rhythmical alternation, or in more complex bimanual patterns. Dyslexic subjects showed significant deficits of timing precision on bimanual tasks that required the integration of asynchronous responses, but not when they moved the fingers in unison. Findings are discussed in terms of both the hypothesis that impaired temporal resolution in dyslexia reflects an underlying deficit of left-hemisphere function and an alternative hypothesis that functional deficits in developmental dyslexia are associated with impaired interhemispheric communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional disruption of the brain mechanism for reading: Effects of comorbidity and task difficulty among children with developmental learning problems.

Objective: The study investigated the relative degree and timing of cortical activation associated with phonological decoding in poor readers. Method: Regional brain activity was assessed during performance of a pseudoword reading task and a less demanding, letter-sound naming task by three groups of students: children who experienced reading difficulties without attention problems (N = 50, RD) and nonreading impaired (NI) readers either with (N = 20) or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; N = 50). Recordings were obtained with a whole-head neuromagnetometer, and activation profiles were computed through a minimum norm algorithm. Results: Children with RD showed decreased amplitude of neurophysiological activity in the superior temporal gyrus, bilaterally, and in the left supramarginal and angular gyri during late stages of decoding, compared to typical readers. These effects were restricted to the more demanding pseudoword reading task. No differences were found in degree of activity between NI and ADHD students. Regression analyses provided further support for the crucial role of left hemisphere temporoparietal cortices and the fusiform gyrus for basic reading skills. Conclusions: Results were in agreement with fMRI findings and replicate previous MEG findings with a larger sample, a higher density neuromagnetometer, an overt pseudoword reading task, and a distributed current source-modeling method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial processing in reading aloud: Evidence for dual-route models of reading.

The authors examined the regularity effect on reading aloud as a function of left-to-right phonemic position of irregularity in low-frequency exception words. Ss named 96 low-frequency exception words categorized into 5 conditions on the basis of the position (1st through 5th) of their 1st irregular grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence (GPC). Latencies and error rates for these words were compared with the rates for 96 matched GPC regular controls. Results showed that the cost of irregularity decreased monotonically over the 5 positions of irregularity. This result is offered as evidence for dual-route models of reading and against parallel distributed processing models of reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional connectivity of the angular gyrus in normal reading and dyslexia

The classic neurologic model for reading, based on studies of patients with acquired alexia, hypothesizes functional linkages between the angular gyrus in the left hemisphere and visual association areas in the occipital and temporal lobes. The angular gyrus also is thought to have functional links with posterior language areas (e.g., Wernicke's area), because it is presumed to be involved in mapping visually presented inputs onto linguistic representations. Using positron emission tomography , we demonstrate in normal men that regional cerebral blood flow in the left angular gyrus shows strong within-task, across-subjects correlations (i.e., functional connectivity) with regional cerebral blood flow in extrastriate occipital and temporal lobe regions during single word reading. In contrast, the left angular gyrus is functionally disconnected from these regions in men with persistent developmental dyslexia, suggesting that the anatomical disconnection of the left angular gyrus from other brain regions that are part of the "normal" brain reading network in many cases of acquired alexia is mirrored by its functional disconnection in developmental dyslexia.     

Acquisition and transfer of empathy by the parents of early adolescents through structured learning training.

Measured the effectiveness of A. P. Goldstein's (1973) structured learning training (modeling, role playing, and social reinforcement) in teaching parents of adolescents to respond empathically to their children; also measured was the extent to which transfer of training occurs when adolescents participate in training with their parents. 37 mothers of 6th-8th graders volunteered to attend a minicourse on communication. The mothers were divided into 4 groups, including the control group. All groups except the control group received structured learning training in empathy; in 1 group the children did not participate, in a 2nd group the children participated separately, and in the 3rd group they participated with their parents. After 3 wks (6 hrs) of training, the treatment groups showed significantly more empathy. The closeness of the mean empathy scores on the behavioral measure to the scores on the written measure suggested that all 3 treatment groups transferred the skill they had learned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Finger recognition skills and reading achievement: A developmental neuropsychological analysis.

Administered to 678 White kindergarten boys 4 finger recognition tasks (FRTs) and a battery of other tests, including the Embedded Figures Test, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, as part of a 6-yr longitudinal project. In their 3rd yr in school, the 80 Ss having the most significant difficulties in learning to read were identified and compared with 80 Ss who had acquired adequate reading skills. These 2 groups received the same FRTs in both their 3rd and 6th school years. FRTs (a) were differentially associated with other developmental variables in kindergarten, (b) were mastered at different ages, (c) demonstrated differential age-dependent relationships with reading status, and (d) were not related to neurological indices of brain integrity. Findings show that FRTs do not provide unitary measures of brain integrity in learning-disabled boys and do not have specific relationships with reading achievement. The significance of FRTs for reading achievement accrued primarily from their sensitivity to other developmental processes underlying reading acquisition. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)