Alice Cancer

Improving reading skills in students with dyslexia: the efficacy of a sublexical training with rhythmic background

The core deficit underlying developmental dyslexia (DD) has been identified in difficulties in dynamic and rapidly changing auditory information processing, which contribute to the development of impaired phonological representations for words. It has been argued that enhancing basic musical rhythm perception skills in children with DD may have a positive effect on reading abilities because music and language share common mechanisms and thus transfer effects from the former to the latter are expected to occur. A computer-assisted training, called Rhythmic Reading Training (RRT), was designed in which reading exercises are combined with rhythm background. Fourteen junior high school students with DD took part to 9 biweekly individual sessions of 30 min in which RRT was implemented. Reading improvements after the intervention period were compared with ones of a matched control group of 14 students with DD who received no intervention. Results indicated that RRT had a positive effect on both reading speed and accuracy and significant effects were found on short pseudo-words reading speed, long pseudo-words reading speed, high frequency long words reading accuracy, and text reading accuracy. No difference in rhythm perception between the intervention and control group were found. Findings suggest that rhythm facilitates the development of reading skill because of the temporal structure it imposes to word decoding.

Rhythmic Reading Training (RRT)

Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning disorder of neurobiological origin that causes a reading impairment. Since music and language share common mechanisms and the core deficit underlying dyslexia has been identified in difficulties in dynamic and rapidly changing auditory information processing, it has been argued that enhancing basic musical rhythm perception skills in children with dyslexia may have a positive effect on reading abilities. Therefore, active engagement with music provides an enjoyable environment that may improve motivation of children and thus enhance the efficacy of the intervention. Taking these findings and hypotheses into account, a computer-assisted training, called Rhythmic Reading Training (RRT), was designed to implement a treatment which combines a traditional approach (sublexical treatment) with rhythm processing training. Some preliminary test-training-retest studies showed the efficacy of RRT intervention on reading abilities of children with dyslexia.

Rapid automatized naming, verbal working memory, and rhythm discrimination as predictors of reading in Italian undergraduate students with and without dyslexia

Whereas the clinical manifestations and the neuropsychological predictors of Developmental Dyslexia (DD) are already well documented in Italian-speaking children, empirical evidence on DD in Italian adults is in contrast rather scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of a subset of neuropsychological skills, which have been identified by previous literature to be related to reading, in the decoding abilities of a group of Italian undergraduates with and without DD. For this purpose, 39 university students aged between 19 and 27 years, 19 of whom with a diagnosis of DD, underwent an assessment battery including standardized reading tests, rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal working memory, and rhythmic pattern discrimination tests. Cross-group differences confirmed significantly lower performances of undergraduates with DD in all measures but rhythm discrimination, compared to typical readers, thus showing a non-compensated neuropsychological profile. Regression analyses showed that, while reading speed was strongly and uniquely predicted by RAN speed, reading accuracy was concurrently predicted by RAN and rhythmic abilities. Finally, RAN speed emerged as a strong predictor of reading performance and risk of receiving a diagnosis of DD.

The alleged link between creativity and dyslexia: Identifying the specific process in which dyslexic students excel

Abstract It is often argued that individuals with developmental dyslexia (DD) are particularly creative. In order to test this claim, in Study 1 the WCR (widening, connecting and reorganizing) Creativity Test was administered to 52 junior high school students, 19 of whom diagnosed with DD. Results showed that students with DD performed significantly better in the connecting task, which consisted in carrying unusual combination of ideas out. This finding was supported by Study 2, involving a small sample of junior high school students with DD, where a negative correlation between connecting abilities and reading skills emerged. This investigation contributes to the understanding of the peculiar cognitive functioning of people with learning disabilities.

tDCS Modulatory Effect on Reading Processes: A Review of Studies on Typical Readers and Individuals With Dyslexia

The possibility to use non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate reading performance in individuals with developmental dyslexia (DD) has been recently explored by few empirical investigations. The present systematic review includes nine studies which have employed transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) aiming at improving reading abilities in both typical readers and individuals with DD. Anodal tDCS over the left temporo-parietal cortex—a region which is typically involved in phonological and orthographic processing during reading tasks and underactive in individuals with DD—was the most frequently used montage. The majority of studies employing such stimulation protocol showed significant improvement in differential reading subprocesses. More precisely, word decoding was improved in adult readers, whereas non-word and low-frequency word reading in younger individuals. Furthermore, tDCS was found to be specifically effective in poor readers and individuals with DD rather than typical readers, in spite of the specific brain region targeted by the stimulation; Left frontal, left temporo-parietal, and right cerebellar tDCS failed to modulate reading in already proficient readers. Overall, tDCS appears to be a promising remedial tool for reading difficulties, even when applied to younger populations with reading problems. Further empirical evidence is needed to confirm the potential of neuromodulation as a successful intervention method for DD.

La musica nella riabilitazione della dislessia: dati a favore dell’efficacia del "training lettura ritmica"

L’interesse verso la musica come strumento da impiegare in ambito riabilitativo e aumentato sempre piu negli ultimi anni. In uno specifico settore sono stati indagati gli effetti che un training a base musicale puo avere sulle abilita di lettura in soggetti con dislessia. Con il presente contributo si intende illustrare i dettagli di un progetto nato in ambito italiano avente lo scopo di ideare un training musicale per la riabilitazione della dislessia. Il lavoro di ricerca ha portato alla creazione di un software denominato Training Lettura Ritmica (TLR) rivolto a bambini con disturbo della lettura. L’allenamento prevede l’utilizzo della componente ritmica associata a compiti di elaborazione fonologica. Sono qui riportati i risultati ottenuti in diverse ricerche aventi l’obiettivo di valutare l’efficacia del training tramite la sua applicazione con soggetti con dislessia. Dai dati raccolti e stato possibile verificare l’efficacia del training nell’incrementare le competenze legate alla lettura.

Rilevazione e individuazione di ostacoli con diverso grado di prevedibilità nella guida automobilistica

La ricerca ha l’obiettivo di rilevare le differenze nei tempi di reazione di soggetti patentati all’interno di un contesto simulato di guida al fine di valutare l’influenza del livello di prevedibilita di un ostacolo. I tempi di reazione sono stati misurati durante lo svolgimento di due tipologie differenti di compiti: semplice rilevazione dell’ostacolo e identificazione (e denominazione) dello stesso. I risultati mostrano un effetto della prevedibilita dello stimolo sui tempi di risposta in entrambe le condizioni (maggiori nel caso di stimoli imprevedibili). Si e inoltre rilevato uno scarto tra i tempi di rilevazione e identificazione in funzione della prevedibilita.