Attention, reading and dyslexia

It has been proposed that magnocellular deficits cause dyslexia through reduced attention. According to one model (Vidyasagar, Clinical and Experimental Optometry 2004; 87: 4-10), attention is shifted from letter to letter during fixations and magnocellular deficits are hypothesised to cause reading problems by interfering with the ability to control the attention. The present report points out several problems in this model. 1. It requires dissociation of eye movements and attention, which may be problematic within the framework of reading. 2. There is direct evidence to indicate that reading is not carried out in a letter-to-letter manner during fixations. 3. There are aspects of the visual performance of dyslexic readers, which are difficult to attribute to inattention. 4. There are indications that attentional deficiencies of dyslexic readers are not associated with magnocellular deficits. 5. The evidence for linking magnocellular deficits to dyslexia in general is weak.