Children with dyslexia reveal abnormal native language representations: evidence from a study of mismatch negativity

Although a deficit perceiving phonemes, as indexed by the mismatch negativity (MMN), is apparent in developmental dyslexia (DD), studies have not yet addressed whether this deficit might be a result of deficient native language speech representations. The present study examines how a native-vowel prototype and an atypical vowel are discriminated by 9-year-old children with (n = 14) and without (n = 12) DD. MMN was elicited in all conditions in both groups. The control group revealed enhanced MMN to the native-vowel prototype in comparison to the atypical vowel. Children with DD did not show enhanced MMN amplitude to the native-vowel prototype, suggesting impaired tuning to native language speech representations. Furthermore, higher MMN amplitudes to the native-vowel prototype correlated with more advanced reading (r = - .47) and spelling skills (r = - .52).