Dyslexia is a common learning disability that affects processing of written language despite adequate intelligence and educational background. If learning disabilities remain untreated, a child may experience long-term social and emotional problems, which influence future success in all aspects of their life. Dyslexia has a 60% heritability rate, and genetic studies have identified multiple dyslexia susceptibility genes (DSGs). DSGs, such as <i>DCDC2</i>, are consistently associated with the risk and severity of reading disability (RD). Altered neural connectivity within temporoparietal regions of the brain is associated with specific variants of DSGs in individuals with RD. Genetically altering DSG expression in mice results in visual and auditory processing deficits as well as neurophysiological and neuroanatomical disruptions. Previously, we demonstrated that learning deficits associated with RD can be translated across species using virtual environments. In this 2-year longitudinal study, we demonstrate that performance on a virtual Hebb-Williams maze in pre-readers is able to predict future reading impairment, and the genetic risk strengthens, but is not dependent on, this relationship. Due to the lack of oral reporting and use of letters, this easy-to-use tool may be particularly valuable in a remote working environment as well as working with vulnerable populations such as English language learners.
Reading disability (RD), which affect between 5-17% of the population worldwide, is the most prevalent form of learning disability, and is associated with underactivation of a universal reading network in children. However, recent research suggests there are differences in learning rates on cognitive predictors of reading performance, as well as differences in activation patterns within the reading neural network, based on orthographic depth (i.e. transparent/shallow vs. deep/opaque orthographies) in children with RD. Recently, we showed that native-English-speaking children with RD exhibit impaired performance on a maze learning task that taps into the same neural networks that are activated during reading. In addition, we demonstrated that genetic risk for RD strengthens the relationship between reading impairment and maze learning performance. However, it is unclear whether the results from these studies can be broadly applied to children from other language orthographies. In this study we examined whether low reading skill was associated with poor maze learning performance in native English-speaking and native German-speaking children, and the influence of genetic risk for RD on cognition and behavior. In addition, we investigated the link between genetic risk and performance on this task in an orthographically diverse sample of children attending an English-speaking international school in Germany. The results from our data suggest that children with low reading skill, or with a genetic risk for reading impairment, exhibit impaired performance on the maze learning task, regardless of orthographic depth. However, these data also suggest that orthographic depth influences the degree of impairment on this task. The maze learning task requires the involvement of various cognitive processes and neural networks that underlie reading, but is not influenced by potential differences in reading experience due to lack of text or oral reporting. As a fully automated tool, it does not require specialized training to administer, and current results suggest it may be a practicable screening tool for early identification of reading impairment across orthographies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.