Dyslexic Readers Improve without Training When Using a Computer-Guided Reading Strategy

Werth, Reinhard

doi:10.3390/brainsci11050526

Cited by 10 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(217 reference statements)

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“…Alternatively, non-dyslexics favor a whole word lexical strategy, which would provide a larger amplitude as the adolescent moves across the whole word [41]. Werth has also found that segmentation of text and longer fixation times improves oculomotor abnormalities [42,43]. It is possible that segmenting the text into smaller portions reduces the need for accommodative effort, and therefore for accommodative vergence, decreasing the stress on the dyslexic child and allowing for more coordinated movements.…”

Section: Cognitive Aspects Of Reading Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dyslexics’ Fragile Oculomotor Control Is Further Destabilized by Increased Text Difficulty

Ward

Kapoula

2021

Brain Sciences

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Dyslexic adolescents demonstrate deficits in word decoding, recognition, and oculomotor coordination as compared to healthy controls. Our lab recently showed intrinsic deficits in large saccades and vergence movements with a Remobi device independent from reading. This shed new light on the field of dyslexia, as it has been debated in the literature whether the deficits in eye movements are a cause or consequence of reading difficulty. The present study investigates how these oculomotor problems are compensated for or aggravated by text difficulty. A total of 46 dyslexic and 41 non-dyslexic adolescents’ eye movements were analyzed while reading L’Alouette, a dyslexia screening test, and 35 Kilos D’Espoir, a children’s book with a reading age of 10 years. While reading the more difficult text, dyslexics made more mistakes, read slower, and made more regressive saccades; moreover, they made smaller amplitude saccades with abnormal velocity profiles (e.g., higher peak velocity but lower average velocity) and significantly higher saccade disconjugacy. While reading the simpler text, these differences persisted; however, the difference in saccade disconjugacy, although present, was no longer significant, nor was there a significant difference in the percentage of regressive saccades. We propose that intrinsic eye movement abnormalities in dyslexics such as saccade disconjugacy, abnormal velocity profiles, and cognitively associated regressive saccades can be particularly exacerbated if the reading text relies heavily on word decoding to extract meaning; increased number of regressive saccades are a manifestation of reading difficulty and not a problem of eye movement per se. These interpretations are in line with the motor theory of visual attention and our previous research describing the relationship between binocular motor control, attention, and cognition that exists outside of the field of dyslexia.

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Section: Cognitive Aspects Of Reading Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dyslexics’ Fragile Oculomotor Control Is Further Destabilized by Increased Text Difficulty

Ward

Kapoula

2021

Brain Sciences

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“…When eye movements, fixation times, saccadic amplitude, and speech response latency were guided by a computer, children with dyslexia improved their reading performance drastically without any previous training [59]. In earlier studies, children with dyslexia reduced their reading mistakes by about two-thirds after learning a new reading strategy within less than 30 min [56][57][58]60].…”

Section: Is Dd Due To Impairment Of M-cells?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children who can see words clearly without knowing the phonemes belonging to the sequence of letters that make up the word are by no means typical for children with DD. None of the 356 children in our studies [56][57][58][59][60] suffered from such a phonological impairment but most of them still had a severe DD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The magnocellular theory of DD assumes that DD is a disorder of visual stimulus processing that is due to the reduced function of the magnocellular visual pathway [49][50][51][52][53][54][55]. Recent findings [56][57][58][59][60] support the view that DD is caused by a visual processing disorder and not a reduced ability to associate a sequence of letters with a sequence of sounds. DD was caused by a visual impairment in all 356 children who participated in these studies and received a diagnosis of DD, although visual acuity was normal and there was no motor eye movement disorder.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead the visual impairments consisted of an increased required fixation time, premature onset of saccades, poor ability to recognize a sequence of letters simultaneously, and saccades whose amplitudes did not match the ability to recognize a string of letters of a given length simultaneously. When visual impairments were compensated by a computer-controlled altered reading strategy, reading performance improved immediately without reading training [59].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is Developmental Dyslexia Due to a Visual and Not a Phonological Impairment?

Werth¹

2021

Brain Sciences

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It is a widely held belief that developmental dyslexia (DD) is a phonological disorder in which readers have difficulty associating graphemes with their corresponding phonemes. In contrast, the magnocellular theory of dyslexia assumes that DD is a visual disorder caused by dysfunctional magnocellular neural pathways. The review explores arguments for and against these theories. Recent results have shown that DD is caused by (1) a reduced ability to simultaneously recognize sequences of letters that make up words, (2) longer fixation times required to simultaneously recognize strings of letters, and (3) amplitudes of saccades that do not match the number of simultaneously recognized letters. It was shown that pseudowords that could not be recognized simultaneously were recognized almost without errors when the fixation time was extended. However, there is an individual maximum number of letters that each reader with DD can recognize simultaneously. Findings on the neurobiological basis of temporal summation have shown that a necessary prolongation of fixation times is due to impaired processing mechanisms of the visual system, presumably involving magnocells and parvocells. An area in the mid-fusiform gyrus also appears to play a significant role in the ability to simultaneously recognize words and pseudowords. The results also contradict the assumption that DD is due to a lack of eye movement control. The present research does not support the assumption that DD is caused by a phonological disorder but shows that DD is due to a visual processing dysfunction.

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Topology of the lateral visual system: The fundus of the superior temporal sulcus and parietal area H connect nonvisual cerebrum to the lateral occipital lobe

et al. 2023

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Background and Purpose Mapping the topology of the visual system is critical for understanding how complex cognitive processes like reading can occur. We aim to describe the connectivity of the visual system to understand how the cerebrum accesses visual information in the lateral occipital lobe. Methods Using meta‐analytic software focused on task‐based functional MRI studies, an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) of the visual network was created. Regions of interest corresponding to the cortical parcellation scheme previously published under the Human Connectome Project were co‐registered onto the ALE to identify the hub‐like regions of the visual network. Diffusion Spectrum Imaging‐based fiber tractography was performed to determine the structural connectivity of these regions with extraoccipital cortices. Results The fundus of the superior temporal sulcus (FST) and parietal area H (PH) were identified as hub‐like regions for the visual network. FST and PH demonstrated several areas of coactivation beyond the occipital lobe and visual network. Furthermore, these parcellations were highly interconnected with other cortical regions throughout extraoccipital cortices related to their nonvisual functional roles. A cortical model demonstrating connections to these hub‐like areas was created. Conclusions FST and PH are two hub‐like areas that demonstrate extensive functional coactivation and structural connections to nonvisual cerebrum. Their structural interconnectedness with language cortices along with the abnormal activation of areas commonly located in the temporo‐occipital region in dyslexic individuals suggests possible important roles of FST and PH in the integration of information related to language and reading. Future studies should refine our model by examining the functional roles of these hub areas and their clinical significance.

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Dyslexic Readers Improve without Training When Using a Computer-Guided Reading Strategy

Cited by 10 publications

References 101 publications

Dyslexics’ Fragile Oculomotor Control Is Further Destabilized by Increased Text Difficulty

Dyslexics’ Fragile Oculomotor Control Is Further Destabilized by Increased Text Difficulty

Is Developmental Dyslexia Due to a Visual and Not a Phonological Impairment?

Topology of the lateral visual system: The fundus of the superior temporal sulcus and parietal area H connect nonvisual cerebrum to the lateral occipital lobe

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