John Shelley-Tremblay

Effect of Attention Therapy on Reading Comprehension

This study quantified the influence of visual attention therapy on the reading comprehension of Grade 6 children with moderate reading disabilities (RD) in the absence of specific reading remediation. Thirty students with below-average reading scores were identified using standardized reading comprehension tests. Fifteen children were placed randomly in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. The Attention Battery of the Cognitive Assessment System was administered to all participants. The experimental group received 12 one-hour sessions of individually monitored, computer-based attention therapy programs; the control group received no therapy during their 12-week period. Each group was retested on attention and reading comprehension measures. In order to stimulate selective and sustained visual attention, the vision therapy stressed various aspects of arousal, activation, and vigilance. At the completion of attention therapy, the mean standard attention and reading comprehension scores of the experimental group had improved significantly. The control group, however, showed no significant improvement in reading comprehension scores after 12 weeks. Although uncertainties still exist, this investigation supports the notion that visual attention is malleable and that attention therapy has a significant effect on reading comprehension in this often neglected population.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: An Evolutionary Perspective

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects a significant portion of the population--some 5% of all school-aged children--and approximately half of these individuals continue to show the full disorder in adulthood. Recent studies point to a strong genetic component in the etiology of this disorder. Questions have been raised as to the relatively high prevalence of this condition in the population, given its apparent maladaptive nature in present-day society. In this article, we review and discuss three theories regarding the possible adaptive function of ADHD: the hunter, fighter, and wader theories. Although no theory entirely explains the occurrence of ADHD, it is worthwhile to note that, at least historically, ADHD may have served an adaptive function and may have been selected by the environment for survival.

Role of Visual Attention in Cognitive Control of Oculomotor Readiness in Students with Reading Disabilities

This study investigated eye movement and comprehension therapy in Grade 6 children with reading disabilities (RD). Both order of therapy and type of therapy were examined. Furthermore, the implications of visual attention in ameliorating reading disability are discussed. Thirty-one students with RD were identified using standardized reading comprehension tests. Eye movements were analyzed objectively using an infra-red recording device. Reading scores of participating children were 0.5 to 1 SD below the national mean. Testing took place before the start of therapy (T1) and was repeated after 12 weeks (T2) and 24 weeks (T3) of therapy. One group of students had eye movement therapy first, followed by comprehension therapy; in the other group, the order was reversed. Data were evaluated using a repeated measures MANOVA and post hoc tests. At T1, mean reading grade was 2 years below grade level, and eye movement scores were at about Grade 2 level. Mean growth in reading comprehension for the total sample was 2.6 years (p < .01) at T3; equally significant improvement was measured in eye movements (p < .01). Learning rate in reading comprehension improved from 60% (T1) to 400% (T3). Although within-group differences were statistically significant, between-group differences were not significant for comprehension or eye movements. Order of therapy (comprehension first or eye movements first) was not significant. Improvements in within-group scores for comprehension and eye movements were consistently significant at T2 and T3. Eye movement therapy improved eye movements and also resulted in significant gains in reading comprehension. Comprehension therapy likewise produced improvement both in eye movement efficiency and in reading comprehension. The results support the notion of a cognitive link among visual attention, oculomotor readiness, and reading comprehension.

Is There a Common Linkage Among Reading Comprehension, Visual Attention, and Magnocellular Processing?

The authors examined the relationships between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing in 42 Grade 7 students. The goal was to quantify the sensitivity of visual attention and magnocellular visual processing as concomitants of poor reading comprehension in the absence of either vision therapy or cognitive intervention. Nineteen good readers (M = grade equivalent of 11.2) and 23 poor readers (M = grade equivalent of 3.5) were identified. Participants were tested for visual attention skills (Cognitive Assessment System: CAS) and magnocellular integrity (Coherent Motion Threshold: CM). Individual and combined correlations of dependent variables with reading were significant at the 0.01 level. When combined, the two tests (CAS + CM) accounted for 61% of the variance in reading comprehension. Logistic regression analysis measured sensitivity of the two diagnostic tests. Attention tests correctly classified 95.7% of poor readers, and coherent motion correctly classified 78.3% of poor readers. When the data were combined, 91.3% of poor readers were correctly classified. The research reinforces the notion that a common linkage exists between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing. Diagnostic test batteries for students who have been identified as reading disabled should include magnocellular and visual attention tests. Procedures to diagnose and ameliorate these disabilities are discussed.

Physiological evidence that a masked unrelated intervening item disrupts semantic priming: Implications for theories of semantic representation and retrieval models of semantic priming

Event-related potentials were recorded in a paradigm where an unrelated word was interposed between two related words. In one condition, the intervening item was masked and in another condition it was not. The N400 component indicated that priming of the related word was disrupted by the intervening item whether it was masked or not. The data are interpreted to be inconsistent with retrieval models of priming.

The Effects of Sucrose Consumption on Left-Frontal Asymmetry and Anger in Persons with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

ABSTRACT. Objectives: Previous studies suggest that a carbohydrate-restricted diet ameliorates chronic and idiopathic post-prandial [PP] mood symptoms in persons with fibromyalgia syndrome [FMS]. These studies, however, shed no light on the PP effects of carbohydrate on mood and its electroencephalographic correlates. The present study measured the effects of sucrose on electroencephalogram [EEG] and mood self-report measures in persons with FMS and age-matched healthy normal controls [HNC]. Methods: The present investigation sought to determine the relationships between reported mood, relative left-frontal EEG asymmetry [rLFA] in the alpha band, and blood glucose at baseline and four PP epochs following ingestion of pure sucrose in female participants with FMS [N = 8] and HNC [N = 10]. Results: The FMS and HNC showed equivalent patterns of blood glucose throughout the study, but FMS patients showed elevated levels of depression, anger, and other indicators of distress at all time points. An interaction emerged for high alpha [8–12 Hz] rLFA between experimental epoch and participant group, indicating increased rLFA for the FMS group at post-prandial 60 minutes. The pattern of increased rLFA correlated with anger for the FMS group only. At baseline, rLFA was negatively correlated with depressive sympomatology for the HNC group, and uncorrelated in the FMS group. Conclusions: Results support previous findings of decoupling of mood and EEG in persons with elevated depression levels, as well as a unique EEG response to carbohydrates for the FMS participants. These results are discussed in terms of an approach-withdrawal model of affect.

Training on Movement Figure-Ground Discrimination Remediates Low-Level Visual Timing Deficits in the Dorsal Stream, Improving High-Level Cognitive Functioning, Including Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory

The purpose of this study was to determine whether neurotraining to discriminate a moving test pattern relative to a stationary background, figure-ground discrimination, improves vision and cognitive functioning in dyslexics, as well as typically-developing normal students. We predict that improving the speed and sensitivity of figure-ground movement discrimination (PATH to Reading neurotraining) acts to remediate visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream, thereby improving processing speed, reading fluency, and the executive control functions of attention and working memory in both dyslexic and normal students who had PATH neurotraining more than in those students who had no neurotraining. This prediction was evaluated by measuring whether dyslexic and normal students improved on standardized tests of cognitive skills following neurotraining exercises, more than following computer-based guided reading (Raz-Kids (RK)). The neurotraining used in this study was visually-based training designed to improve magnocellular function at both low and high levels in the dorsal stream: the input to the executive control networks coding working memory and attention. This approach represents a paradigm shift from the phonologically-based treatment for dyslexia, which concentrates on high-level speech and reading areas. This randomized controlled-validation study was conducted by training the entire second and third grade classrooms (42 students) for 30 min twice a week before guided reading. Standardized tests were administered at the beginning and end of 12-weeks of intervention training to evaluate improvements in academic skills. Only movement-discrimination training remediated both low-level visual timing deficits and high-level cognitive functioning, including selective and sustained attention, reading fluency and working memory for both dyslexic and normal students. Remediating visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream revealed the causal role of visual movement discrimination training in improving high-level cognitive functions such as attention, reading acquisition and working memory. This study supports the hypothesis that faulty timing in synchronizing the activity of magnocellular with parvocellular visual pathways in the dorsal stream is a fundamental cause of dyslexia and being at-risk for reading problems in normal students, and argues against the assumption that reading deficiencies in dyslexia are caused by phonological or language deficits, requiring a paradigm shift from phonologically-based treatment of dyslexia to a visually-based treatment. This study shows that visual movement-discrimination can be used not only to diagnose dyslexia early, but also for its successful treatment, so that reading problems do not prevent children from readily learning.

Non-Ketogenic, Low Carbohydrate Diet Predicts Lower Affective Distress, Higher Energy Levels and Decreased Fibromyalgia Symptoms in Middle-Aged Females with Fibromyalgia Syndrome as Compared to the Western Pattern Diet

Abstract Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the association between a non-ketogenic, low-carbohydrate diet [NKLCD] and symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome [FMS], mood and energy levels, and confusion, as compared to controls reporting adherence to the Western Pattern Diet [WPD]. Methods: Participants were 33 middle-aged females with FMS who reported adherence to a NKLCD or the WPD. Respondents completed a questionnaire packet measuring state and trait mood and energy level as well as a measure of FMS symptoms and daily functioning. Results: The NKLCD sample reported less affective distress, less Confusion, less Fatigue and more Vigor than the WPD sample on the Profile of Mood States. Group scores for the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales showed lower Anxiety and Depression scores for the NKLCD sample. The NKLCD sample showed lowered symptom scores on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Morbidity was significantly reduced for all measures in the NKLCD sample. Conclusions: Results support hypotheses of less dysphoria, more energy, decreased FMS symptomatology in a NKLCD sample versus the WPD group. Results suggest the potential for development of a dietary intervention for managing affective and functional symptoms of this syndrome.

Optical Push by Geographical Slant Affects Postural Sway

This study shows that perceived geographical slant affects postural stability. In 2 experimental conditions participants stood on a force platform that measured center of pressure (COP) during quiet stance while looking at a rigid, flat ramp surface of varying geographical slants. Using an otherwise identical procedure, participants in the second condition also provided verbal estimates of the steepness of the surface in degrees. Several measures of postural stability offered converging evidence that COP sway gradually increased as geographical slant decreased to 0 (horizontal ground). Specifically, COP was sensitive to changes in surface slant. Both the range and the standard deviation of COP showed the same trend of increased variability with decreasing geographical slant angles in both conditions. The area of the ellipse covering COP sway (based on a principal components analysis) showed the same tendency: ellipse area got larger for smaller, more horizontal slants. Nonlinear fractal dynamics of COP sway, as measured by the Hurst exponent of COP, pointed in the same direction: more fractal patterns, known to be correlated with increased muscle activity and decline in postural stability, were measured for shallower surface slants. There were no effects of verbal estimates on any of the measures, suggesting that explicit awareness of slant does not bias postural stability above and beyond the effects of visual environment.

Electrophysiological evidence for the action of a center-surround mechanism on semantic processing in the left hemisphere

Physiological evidence was sought for a center-surround attentional mechanism (CSM), which has been proposed to assist in the retrieval of weakly activated items from semantic memory. The CSM operates by facilitating strongly related items in the “center” of the weakly activated area of semantic memory, and inhibiting less strongly related items in its “surround”. In this study weak activation was created by having subjects acquire the meanings of new words to a recall criterion of only 50%. Subjects who attained this approximate criterion level of performance were subsequently included in a semantic priming task, during which ERPs were recorded. Primes were newly learned rare words, and targets were either synonyms, non-synonymously related words, or unrelated words. All stimuli were presented to the RVF/LH (right visual field/left hemisphere) or the LVF/RH (left visual field/right hemisphere). Under RVF/LH stimulation the newly learned word primes produced facilitation on N400 for synonym targets, and inhibition for related targets. No differences were observed under LVF/RH stimulation. The LH thus, supports a CSM, whereby a synonym in the “center” of attention, focused on the newly learned word, is facilitated, whereas a related word in the “surround” is inhibited. The data are consistent with the view of this laboratory that semantic memory is subserved by a spreading activation system in the LH. Also consistent with our view, there was no evidence of spreading activation in the RH. The findings are discussed in the context of additional recent theories of semantic memory. Finally, the adult right hemisphere may require more learning than the LH in order to demonstrate evidence of meaning acquisition.