Dyslexia Learning And The Brain

A unique overview of research on dyslexia and an account of the underlying causes at cognitive, brain, and neural system levels that provides a framework for significant progress in the understanding of dyslexia and other related learning disabilities. Dyslexia research has made dramatic progress since the mid-1980s. Once discounted as a “middle-class myth,” dyslexia is now the subject of a complex—and confusing—body of theoretical and empirical research. In Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain, leading dyslexia researchers Roderick Nicolson and Angela Fawcett provide a uniquely broad and coherent analysis of dyslexia theory. Unlike most dyslexia research, which addresses the question “what is the cause of the reading disability called dyslexia?” the authors' work has addressed the deeper question of “what is the cause of the learning disability that manifests as reading problems?” This perspective allows them to place dyslexia research within the much broader disciplines of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and has led to a rich framework, including two established leading theories, the automatization deficit account (1990) and the cerebellar deficit hypothesis (2001). Nicolson and Fawcett show that extensive evidence has accumulated to support these two theories and that they may be seen as subsuming the established phonological deficit account and sensory processing accounts. Moving to the explanatory level of neural systems, they argue that all these disorders reflect problems in some component of the procedural learning system, a multiregion system including major components of cortical and subcortical regions. The authors' answer to the fundamental question “what is dyslexia?” offers a challenge and motivation for research throughout the learning disabilities, laying the foundations for future progress.

A unique overview of research on dyslexia and an account of the underlying causes at cognitive, brain, and neural system levels that provides a framework for significant progress in the understanding of dyslexia and other related learning disabilities. Dyslexia research has made dramatic progress since the mid-1980s. Once discounted as a “middle-class myth,” dyslexia is now the subject of a complex—and confusing—body of theoretical and empirical research. In Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain, leading dyslexia researchers Roderick Nicolson and Angela Fawcett provide a uniquely broad and coherent analysis of dyslexia theory. Unlike most dyslexia research, which addresses the question “what is the cause of the reading disability called dyslexia?” the authors' work has addressed the deeper question of “what is the cause of the learning disability that manifests as reading problems?” This perspective allows them to place dyslexia research within the much broader disciplines of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and has led to a rich framework, including two established leading theories, the automatization deficit account (1990) and the cerebellar deficit hypothesis (2001). Nicolson and Fawcett show that extensive evidence has accumulated to support these two theories and that they may be seen as subsuming the established phonological deficit account and sensory processing accounts. Moving to the explanatory level of neural systems, they argue that all these disorders reflect problems in some component of the procedural learning system, a multiregion system including major components of cortical and subcortical regions. The authors' answer to the fundamental question “what is dyslexia?” offers a challenge and motivation for research throughout the learning disabilities, laying the foundations for future progress.

The distinguished contributors to this volume examine epidemiologic and clinical issues that may make the developing brain more vulnerable to environmental and genetic influences, which can in turn lead to abnormal brain plasticity and behavior. Although major forms of brain malformation have been clearly associated with functional deficits, mild forms have historically been ignored or trivialized; this book supports the hypothesis that several types of such malformation reflect brain injury during critical stages of development, and also the premise that more and more disturbances of thought and behavior stem from abnormalities of brain organization.

Despite the wealth of literature available on the subject of dyslexia, there is little that explores the subject beyond a single theoretical framework. The need for a comprehensive review of the literature by both researchers and practitioners from different fields and theoretical backgrounds is the central motivation behind Dyslexia, Reading and the Brain. By combining the existing fragmented and one-sided accounts, Alan Beaton has created a sourcebook that provides the much-needed basis for a more integrated and holistic approach to dyslexia.The book is divided into two sections: the first, The Cognitive Context, outlines the theoretical context of normal reading development and introduces the role of phonological awareness and the relation between dyslexia and IQ. Section two, The Biological Context, provides an explanation of the genetic background as well as exploring hormonal theories and the visual aspects of dyslexia. By including both historical theories and some of the most recent developments, Dyslexia, Reading and the Brain succeeds in presenting the reader with a balanced and unbiased overview of the current thinking and achieves a unique breadth and depth of coverage. The comprehensive coverage and impartial approach mean that this sourcebook will prove an invaluable resource for anyone involved in study, research or practice in the fields of reading and dyslexia.

This book brings together information about the neurobiological, genetic, and behavioral bases of reading and reading disabilities. Research findings and interventiona approaches by leaders in the field are presented.€The volume provides essential reading for a range of researchers, clinicians, and other professionals interested in reading and reading disability.

The Dyslexic Brain: New Pathways in Neuroscience Discovery offers a state-of-the art examination of the neural components and functions involved in reading and in the possible sources of breakdown. Suggestions for intervention are introduced throughout the book. The book is based on presentations at a summer 2004 symposium, which was part of an ongoing symposia series titled, “The Extraordinary Brain,” convened by The Dyslexia Foundation. The participants are top scholars in the multidisciplinary research programs related to the neuroscience of brain development in general and reading disorders in specific. The Dyslexic Brain: New Pathways in Neuroscience Discovery will be important to researchers and scholars interested in dyslexia, as well as those interested in issues involving the cognitive consequences of unusual brain development. Graduate students looking at reading and reading disorders in schools of education and communication disorders will also find substantial new information.

An examination of how we use the term 'dyslexia' and how this may undermine aid for struggling readers.