阅读障碍儿童的技能自动化能力

以自动化缺陷假说为理论背景,采用系列反应时学习任务,探讨了41名五、六年级的汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童和41名正常儿童的技能自动化能力,通过比较对系列刺激和随机刺激的反应时差异,发现障碍组儿童的反应时虽然普遍长于正常组,但两组儿童都表现出了相同模式的系列学习效应,不支持发展性阅读障碍的技能自动化缺陷假说.     

汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的视知觉学习*

研究采用知觉学习经典范式中的视觉搜索任务探讨汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的知觉学习过程。研究考察了阅读障碍儿童与正常儿童在简单搜索任务、复杂搜索任务和限制时间的复杂搜索任务上的知觉学习特点。结果发现,阅读障碍儿童在复杂搜索任务中初始搜索时间显著长于正常控制组;在限制时间的复杂搜索任务中更进一步发现阅读障碍儿童的反应正确率显著低于正常控制组儿童;而且两组儿童视觉搜索任务的正确率与汉语阅读的识字量成绩存在显著相关。上述结果表明,汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童存在复杂搜索的知觉学习缺陷,这种缺陷可能在某种程度上与儿童的阅读技能发展有关。     

Morphological Processing in Adult Dyslexia

This study employed the masked-priming paradigm [Forster and Davis (J Exp Psychol bearn Mem Cogn 10: 680–698, 1984).], along with traditional methods of evaluation of morphological awareness and phonological processing, to obtain a finer-grained picture of the relationship between morphological abilities and reading in adult dyslexic readers. Participants were 21 dyslexic and 21 normally reading native Hebrew-speaking male college students. The results with masked priming demonstrated almost normal status of morphological knowledge in adult dyslexic readers with the presence of characteristic processing slowness. Phonological processing and morphological awareness were also shown to contribute primarily to word decoding in the regular and dyslexic group alike. At the same time, the contribution of different phonological skills to morphological priming effects (for pattern and root) dropped to zero. The findings demonstrated that weakness of dyslexic readers in morphological awareness tasks cannot be explained either by hypotheses on the structural deficit of morphological knowledge in dyslexia or by phonological deficit hypotheses. The explanation for this phenomenon seems to lie in the specific deficit of morphological processing, or even, more generally, in metalinguistic processing deficiency in dyslexia.     

发展性阅读障碍亚类型研究进展

发展性阅读障碍是一种特殊的学习障碍,伴有多种认知缺陷并且存在不同的亚类型。依据相关的阅读模型理论,阅读障碍可划分为语音型和表层型。从认知缺陷角度出发,语音加工缺陷是主要的缺陷表现,以此为特征形成一种主要的阅读障碍的亚类型,同时还有以正字法加工缺陷和快速命名缺陷为主的其他亚类型。而以基本感知觉缺陷为标准,主要有以视觉加工缺陷和以听觉加工缺陷为主的两种亚类型。在汉语条件下,依据同样的阅读模型理论,语音型阅读障碍亚类型比例明显低于拼音文字条件下的。汉语阅读障碍也具有分别以语音加工缺陷、快速命名缺陷和正字法加工缺陷为主要认知缺陷的亚类型。未来有必要从神经机制角度进一步明确不同亚类型的神经基础。     

Separate Digits tests: A brief history,a literature review,and a reexamination of the factor structure of the test of memory and learning (TOMAL)

Following a brief history of Digit Span, a review of 27 articles, selected from 76, addresses the question of whether to scale Digits Forward and Backward separately. The review begins with studies involving Digits Forward, followed in turn by studies of Digits Backward and of both subtests. Finally, the loadings of four TOMAL subtests, Digits Forward and Backward and Letters Forward and Backward, undergo examination in the context of two, three, and four factor promax solutions, with corresponding varimax solutions provided for comparison. The analysis leads to several conclusions. Though Digits Forward and Backward show similarities, they load differently in the three and four factor solutions; Digits Backward also displays a spatial element, and perhaps a transformative element, not apparent in Digits Forward. Moreover, the differences between the two measures have important neurologic and diagnostic implications.     

Dyslexia and dyscalculia: Two learning disorders with different cognitive profiles

This study tests the hypothesis that dyslexia and dyscalculia are associated with two largely independent cognitive deficits, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficit in the number module in the case of dyscalculia. In four groups of 8- to 10-year-olds (42 control, 21 dyslexic, 20 dyscalculic, and 26 dyslexic/dyscalculic), phonological awareness, phonological and visual-spatial short-term and working memory, naming speed, and basic number processing skills were assessed. A phonological deficit was found for both dyslexic groups, irrespective of additional arithmetic deficits, but not for the dyscalculia-only group. In contrast, deficits in processing of symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitudes were observed in both groups of dyscalculic children, irrespective of additional reading difficulties, but not in the dyslexia-only group. Cognitive deficits in the comorbid dyslexia/dyscalculia group were additive; that is, they resulted from the combination of two learning disorders. These findings suggest that dyslexia and dyscalculia have separable cognitive profiles, namely a phonological deficit in the case of dyslexia and a deficient number module in the case of dyscalculia.     

基于PASS模型的汉语阅读障碍认知加工特点的实验研究

研究以智力的PASS认知模型为基础,考察了3-5年级阅读障碍组和正常对照组的PASS认知加工特点,探究汉语阅读障碍儿童的PASS认知缺陷模式,为后期的干预提供理论上的支持和帮助。结果发现,PASS四个认知加工均存在明显的年级差异,低年级儿童的PASS认知加工能力明显不如中高年级儿童。汉语阅读障碍儿童在DN: CAS 12项分任务上的成绩均低于正常对照组儿童。同时,大多数汉语阅读障碍儿童存在不止一种的PASS认知加工缺陷,即汉语发展性阅读障碍内部是一个异质群体;阅读障碍儿童在继时性加工上存在的问题最为严重,存在缺陷的人数也最多。     

ADHD儿童与正常儿童在视觉—动作方面的比较研究

10岁到13岁男性ADHD儿童在镶嵌图形、眼手协调、视力追踪和数字划销等视觉—动作实验上的分数显著低于同一年龄段的男性正常儿童,显示ADHD儿童的视觉—动作能力比正常儿童差.ADHD儿童与正常儿童相比,知觉方式的场独立性较弱,心理机能分化程度较低.ADHD儿童在长度估计实验上没有发现异常.     

Dyslexia,authorial identity,and approaches to learning and writing: A mixed methods study

Background. Dyslexia may lead to difficulties with academic writing as well as reading. The authorial identity approach aims to help students improve their academic writing and avoid unintentional plagiarism, and could help to understand dyslexic students’ approaches to writing. Aims. (1) To compare dyslexic and non‐dyslexic students’ authorial identity and approaches to learning and writing; (2) to compare correlations between approaches to writing and approaches to learning among dyslexic and non‐dyslexic students; (3) to explore dyslexic students’ understandings of authorship and beliefs about dyslexia, writing and plagiarism. Sample. Dyslexic (n= 31) and non‐dyslexic (n= 31) university students. Method. Questionnaire measures of self‐rated confidence in writing, understanding of authorship, knowledge to avoid plagiarism, and top‐down, bottom‐up and pragmatic approaches to writing (Student Authorship Questionnaire; SAQ), and deep, surface and strategic approaches to learning (Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students; ASSIST), plus qualitative interviews with dyslexic students with high and low SAQ scores. Results. Dyslexic students scored lower for confidence in writing, understanding authorship, and strategic approaches to learning, and higher for surface approaches to learning. Correlations among SAQ and ASSIST scores were larger and more frequently significant among non‐dyslexic students. Self‐rated knowledge to avoid plagiarism was associated with a top‐down approach to writing among dyslexic students and with a bottom‐up approach to writing among non‐dyslexic students. All the dyslexic students interviewed described how dyslexia made writing more difficult and reduced their confidence in academic writing, but they had varying views about whether dyslexia increased the risk of plagiarism. Conclusions. Dyslexic students have less strong authorial identities, and less congruent approaches to learning and writing. Knowledge to avoid plagiarism may be more salient for dyslexic students, who may benefit from specific interventions to increase confidence in writing and understanding of authorship. Further research could investigate how dyslexic students develop approaches to academic writing, and how that could be affected by perceived knowledge to avoid plagiarism.     

汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童心理机制的初步研究

本研究采用真假字判断与同音判断任务考察了汉语发展性阅读障碍儿童的心理机制。结果显示,对于真假字判断任务,阅读障碍儿童与正常儿童没有显著差异,而在同音判断任务中表现出了显著差异。本研究说明汉语阅读障碍儿童在整体字形表征方面是正常的,同时还支持了阅读障碍为语音表征缺陷的观点。     

Dyslexia: the articulatory hypothesis revisited

Articulatory disorders have been associated with developmental phonological dyslexia in the literature. However, very few information is available about the articulatory movements involved in speech production in dyslexic children. This study uses aerodynamic/acoustic data to explore how dyslexic children produce bilabial stops in French (/b, p/) within a sentence where they occurred in two positions and in three vowel environments. Average durations of articulatory closure and release were calculated in 10 phonological dyslexic children and two groups of age-matched and reading age-matched controls. Moreover, deviation from a standard pronunciation of the same material was evaluated separately by blind examiners. Our results reveal differences in the timing of the articulatory movements between dyslexics and normal controls, as well as more deviations from the target consonant for the dyslexics than for the controls. These observations are consistent with recent findings pointing to a general deficit in fine motor control in dyslexia.     

Assessing executive abilities following acute stroke with the trail making test and digit span

The Trail Making Test and Digit Span are neuropsychological tests widely used to assess executive abilities following stroke. The Trails B and Digits Backward conditions of these tests are thought to be more sensitive to executive impairment related to frontal lobe dysfunction than the Trails A and Digits Forward conditions. Trails B and Digits Backward are also thought to be more sensitive to brain damage in general. Data from the Stroke and Lesion Registry maintained by the Washington University Cognitive Rehabilitation Research Group were analyzed to compare the effects of frontal versus nonfrontal strokes and to assess the effects of stroke severity. Results showed that the performance of patients with frontal and nonfrontal strokes was comparable in each condition of both the Trail Making Test and Digit Span, providing no support for the widely held belief that Trails B and Digits Backward are more sensitive to frontal lobe damage. Further, Trails A was as strongly correlated with stroke severity as Trails B, whereas Digits Backward was more strongly correlated with stroke severity than Digits Forward. Overall, the Trail Making Test and Digit Span are sensitive to brain damage but do not differentiate between patients with frontal versus nonfrontal stroke.     

Verbal rehearsal and selective attention in children with learning disabilities: A developmental lag

To investigate the development of verbal rehearsal strategies and selective attention in learning disabled children, Hagen's Central-Incidental task was administered to younger learning disabled (M CA = 8.68 years) and normal (M CA = 8.62 years) boys in Experiment 1 and to intermediate (M CA = 10.18 years) and older (M CA = 13.48 years) learning disabled boys in Experiment 2. Also, in Experiment 2, an experimentally induced verbal rehearsal condition was included to determine its effects on serial recall and selective attention performance. In Experiment 1, the serial postion curve of the normals revealed both a primacy and a recency effect, whereas that of the learning disabled revealed a recency effect only. In Experiment 2, both the intermediate and the older learning disabled exhibited both primacy and recency effects under both standard and rehearsal conditions. A developmental analysis of central recall for the three learning disabled groups revealed constant age-related increases in overall central recall and in primacy recall. That the normals recalled more central, but not more incidental, information than the learning disabled in Experiment 1 suggests that the learning disabled are deficient in selective attention. Correlational findings suggest that the selective attention of the learning disabled improves with age. The results were interpreted as support for the hypothesis of a developmental lag in the learning disabled population.     

The Nature of the Automatization Deficit in Chinese Children with Dyslexia

Clarifying whether automatization deficits constitute the primary causes or symptoms of developmental dyslexia, we focused on three critical issues of the dyslexic automatization deficit, namely universality, domain specificity, and severity. Thirty Chinese dyslexic children (mean age 10 years and 5 months), 30 chronological-age-, and 30 reading-level-matched children were tested in 4 areas of automaticity: motor, visual search, Stroop facilitation effects, and automatic word recognition. The results showed that the dyslexic children performed significantly worse than the CA-controls but not the RL-controls in all the tasks except for Stroop congruent-color words, on which they performed worse than children in both control groups. The deficits reflect a lag in reading experiences rather than a persistent cognitive deficit.     

Automatic Activation of Word Phonology from Print in Deep Dyslexia

The performance of deep dyslexics in oral reading and other tasks suggests that they are poor at activating the phonology of words and non-words from printed stimuli. As the tasks ordinarily used to test deep dyslexics require controlled processing, it is possible that the phonology of printed words can be better activated on an automatic basis. This study investigated this possibility by testing a deep dyslexic patient on a lexical decision task with pairs of stimuli presented simultaneously. In Experiment 1, which used content words as stimuli, the deep dyslexic, like normal subjects, showed faster reaction times on trials with rhyming, similarly spelled stimuli (e.g. bribe-tribe) than on control trials (consisting of non-rhyming, dissimilarly spelled words), but slower reaction times on trials with non-rhyming, similarly spelled stimuli (e.g. couch-touch). When the experiment was repeated using function words as stimuli, the patient no longer showed a phonological effect. Therefore, the phonological activation of printed content words by deep dyslexics may be better than would be expected on the basis of their oral reading performance.     

Word,nonword, and visual paired associate learning in Dutch dyslexic children

Verbal and non-verbal learning were investigated in 21 8-11-year-old dyslexic children and chronological-age controls, and in 21 7-9-year-old reading-age controls. Tasks involved the paired associate learning of words, nonwords, or symbols with pictures. Both learning and retention of associations were examined. Results indicated that dyslexic children had difficulty with verbal learning of both words and nonwords. In addition, analysis of the errors made during nonword learning showed that both phonological errors and general learning errors were distributed similarly for the reading groups. This suggests that nonword learning in dyslexics is slower, but not qualitatively different from normal readers. Furthermore, no differences were found between the dyslexics and age-matched normal readers on non-verbal learning. Long-term retention of the learned visual-verbal associations (both words and nonwords) was not impaired in dyslexic children as compared to normal readers. Finally, phonological awareness ability was assessed. Dyslexics performed worse than age-matched normal readers, but similar to reading-age controls.     

Picture Naming Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia: The Phonological Representations Hypothesis

The picture and word naming performance of developmental dyslexics was compared to the picture and word naming performance of non-dyslexic (“garden variety”) poor readers, reading age, and chronological age-matched controls. The stimulus list used for both tasks was systematically manipulated for word length and word frequency. In order to examine picture naming errors in more depth, an object name recognition test assessed each subject's vocabulary knowledge of those names which they were unable to spontaneously label in the picture naming task. Findings indicated that the dyslexic and the garden variety poor readers exhibited a picture naming deficit relative to both chronological and reading age-matched controls. Findings also indicated that both groups of impaired readers obtained superior scores in the word naming task than in the picture naming task, while both groups of controls showed no difference in performance across tasks. The dyslexics' picture naming errors, but not those of the garden variety poor readers, were particularly marked on polysyllabic and/or low frequency words, indicating a possible phonological basis to the picture naming deficit of the dyslexic children. These children also recognized significantly more unnamed target words than all comparison groups, suggesting a particular difficulty inretrievingthe phonological codes of known picture names rather than a vocabulary deficit. Results are discussed in terms of dyslexics' difficulty in encoding full segmental phonological representations of names in long-term memory and/or in processing these representations in order to generate required names on demand.     

Examination stress and components of working memory

Previous research suggests that stress can influence a broad range of memory functions. In this study we investigated the effect of a naturalistic stressor, examination stress, on working memory in young adults. In order to accomplish this aim, participants were tested on psychological and hormonal measures of stress and on Digit Span, once during a low stress period and once during a high stress period. The high examination stress condition was associated with an increase in cortisol and subjective impressions of stress. Although Digits Forward performance did not vary with examination stress, Digits Backward performance improved. These findings suggest that mild increases in stress are associated with improvement in the manipulation component of working memory. However, no correlations were found between working memory and either cortisol or psychological stress. Thus the mechanism by which mild naturalistic stressors improve the manipulation component of working memory needs further investigation.     

Dyslexia and visual-spatial talents: compensation vs deficit model

There are both theoretical and empirical reasons to support the hypothesis that dyslexia is associated with enhancement of right-hemisphere, visual-spatial skills. However, the neurological evidence is neutral with respect to whether dyslexic visual-spatial abilities should be superior (a compensation model) or inferior (a deficit model). In three studies we tested the hypothesis that dyslexia is associated with superior visual-spatial skills. Individuals with dyslexia not only failed to show superiority on a range of visual-spatial tasks, even when tasks were presented without time constraints, but also demonstrated a deficit on many tasks. Whereas we found attentional problems associated with dyslexia, these did not explain our findings. Results are discussed in terms of the apparent conflict between the failure to find any visual-spatial talent associated with dyslexia and the fact that dyslexia is overrepresented in certain visual-spatial professions.     

Eye movements of dyslexic children when reading in a regular orthography

Participants were German dyslexic readers (13-year-olds) who-compared to English dyslexic readers-suffer mainly from slow laborious reading and less from reading errors. The eye movements of eleven dyslexic boys and age-matched controls were recorded during reading of text passages and pseudoword lists. For both text and pseudoword reading, the dyslexic readers exhibited more and much longer fixations, but relatively few regressions. Increased length of words and pseudowords led to a greater increase in number of fixations for dyslexic than normal readers. Comparisons across studies suggest that the present German dyslexic eye movement findings differ from English-based findings by a lower frequency of regressions (presumably due to the higher regularity of German) and from Italian findings by longer fixation duration (presumably due to the greater syllabic complexity of German).