Brain mechanisms and reading remediation: more questions than answers

Abstract

Dyslexia is generally diagnosed in childhood and is characterised by poor literacy skills with associated phonological and perceptual problems. Compensated dyslexic readers are adult readers who have a documented history of childhood dyslexia but as adults can read and comprehend written text well. Uncompensated dyslexic readers are adults who similarly have a documented history of reading impairment but remain functionally reading-impaired all their lives. There is little understanding of the neurophysiological basis for how or why some children become compensated, while others do not, and there is little knowledge about neurophysiological changes that occur with remedial programs for reading disability. This paper will review research looking at reading remediation, particularly in the context of the underlying neurophysiology.

Figure 1

Individual dyslexic readers (brains A, B, C) may develop their own unique cortical networks, but common deficits map back onto common behavioural deficits. Brain D here is from Kujala et al. [54] representing normal network connectivity when reading.