Professor John Gabrieli of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a paper in the current issue of Science discussing dyslexia. Here’s the abstract.
Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2009). Dyslexia: A new synergy between education and cognitive neuroscience. Science, 325, 280 – 283
Reading is essential in modern societies, but many children have dyslexia, a difficulty in learning to read. Dyslexia often arises from impaired phonological awareness, the auditory analysis of spoken language that relates the sounds of language to print. Behavioral remediation, especially at a young age, is effective for many, but not all, children. Neuroimaging in children with dyslexia has revealed reduced engagement of the left temporo-parietal cortex for phonological processing of print, altered white-matter connectivity, and functional plasticity associated with effective intervention. Behavioral and brain measures identify infants and young children at risk for dyslexia, and preventive intervention is often effective. A combination of evidence-based teaching practices and cognitive neuroscience measures could prevent dyslexia from occurring in the majority of children who would otherwise develop dyslexia.
Link to the article
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Hi John,
Since I’m not a member of the AAAS it would cost be $15 to read the article. I’m curious as to how Gabrieli defined dyslexia for the purpose of his study. Can you share that?
I appreciate it,
greg
Greg, Professor Gabrieli’s paper is in the form of a discussion, so the definition he uses does not describe the participants in a study. Nevertheless, here’s how he defined dyslexia:
Thanks for commenting.
Hi John,
I appreciate that… Dyslexia as a group of symptoms. I think the possibility of a genetic definition one day soon along with advances in cognitive neuropsychology could make the next few years exciting for the field.
Greg