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Assessing Dyslexia at Six Year of Age
Published on: May 1, 2020
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Atypical perceptual processing of faces in developmental dyslexia
Yafit Gabay1, Eva Dundas1, David Plaut1
1Department of Psychology, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Brain and Language
|June 19, 2017
Summary
Developmental Dyslexia (DD) impacts more than just reading. This study shows DD also affects face recognition, suggesting a broader, domain-general basis for the condition in visual processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Disorders
Background:
- Developmental Dyslexia (DD) is traditionally linked to phonological deficits.
- Emerging evidence suggests a wider range of cognitive impairments in DD.
- A broader framework is needed to explain the diverse symptoms of DD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the domain-specific versus domain-general nature of DD.
- To compare visual processing of words, faces, and cars in individuals with and without DD.
- To determine if DD's effects extend beyond phonological processing.
Main Methods:
- Compared word, face, and car recognition and discrimination in typical and dyslexic readers.
- Assessed reaction times for matching faces across different viewpoints.
- Measured brain's hemispheric lateralization for word and face processing.
Main Results:
- Individuals with DD showed deficits in word recognition.
- Dyslexic readers were slower at matching faces, particularly with viewpoint changes.
- Poorer discrimination of similar faces, but not cars, was observed in dyslexic individuals.
- Reduced hemispheric lateralization for words and faces was found in DD.
Conclusions:
- Developmental Dyslexia affects both word and face processing, but not car processing.
- Findings support a partial domain-general basis for DD, extending beyond phonological deficits.
- DD's multifaceted nature requires a broader theoretical explanation encompassing visual processing.
Keywords:
Developmental dyslexiaFace recognitionHemispheric specializationLateralization of functionPerceptual expertiseWord recognitionMore Related Videos
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