Cognitive-Motor Training Improves Reading-Related Executive Functions: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study in Dyslexia.

Children with developmental dyslexia (DD) often struggle with executive function difficulties which can continue into adulthood if not addressed. This double-blinded randomized clinical trial study evaluated the short-term effects of the Verbal Working Memory-Balance (VWM-B) program on reading-related executive functions, reading skills, and reading comprehension in Persian children with DD. The active control group [12 children with DD with a mean age of 9 years (SD = 0.

Verbal Working Memory-Balance program training alters the left fusiform gyrus resting-state functional connectivity: A randomized clinical trial study on children with dyslexia.

Sufficient activation of the left fusiform gyrus is important in reading ability acquisition due to its role in reading and naming, working memory (WM), and balance tasks. Recently, a newly-designed training program, Verbal Working Memory-Balance (VWM-B), has been evaluated on children with dyslexia, and its positive effects were shown on reading ability, WM capacity, and postural control. In the present study, we aimed to estimate the functional connectivity alterations of the left fusiform gyrus following training by the VWM-B.

Mathematics Disability vs. Learning Disability: A 360 Degree Analysis.

A fundamental issue for research in mathematics disability (MD) and reading disability (RD) is: If these disabilities are clearly distinct, why is there so high a level of comorbidity, together with the converse; if these disabilities are so similar, why are there clear differences in underlying causes and aetiology? In order to address this puzzle, we introduce the "360 degree analysis" (360DA) framework and apply it to the overlap between RD and MD. The 360DA process starts by analyzing the issue from four perspectives: theoretical, developmental, affective, and pedagogical. Under 360DA, these analyses are then integrated to provide insights for theory, and for individual assessment and support, together with directions for future progress.

Evaluating a new verbal working memory-balance program: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial study on Iranian children with dyslexia.

Background: It is important to improve verbal Working Memory (WM) in reading disability, as it is a key factor in learning. There are commercial verbal WM training programs, which have some short-term effects only on the verbal WM capacity, not reading. However, because of some weaknesses in current verbal WM training programs, researchers suggested designing and developing newly structured programs that particularly target educational functions such as reading skills.

Development of Dyslexia: The Delayed Neural Commitment Framework.

It is now evident that explanations of many developmental disorders need to include a network perspective. In earlier work, we proposed that developmental dyslexia (DD) is well-characterized in terms of impaired procedural learning within the language networks, with the cerebellum being the key structure involved. Here, we deepen the analysis to include the child's developmental process of constructing these networks.

Dyslexia and Substance Use in a University Undergraduate Population.

Background: A number of cognitive deficits are associated with dyslexia. However, only a limited amount of research has been performed exploring a putative link between dyslexia and substance use. As substance use is thought to involve a cognitive component, it is possible that the pattern of substance use would be different for dyslexic participants, when compared to nondyslexic controls.

Consensus paper: Language and the cerebellum: an ongoing enigma.

In less than three decades, the concept "cerebellar neurocognition" has evolved from a mere afterthought to an entirely new and multifaceted area of neuroscientific research. A close interplay between three main strands of contemporary neuroscience induced a substantial modification of the traditional view of the cerebellum as a mere coordinator of autonomic and somatic motor functions. Indeed, the wealth of current evidence derived from detailed neuroanatomical investigations, functional neuroimaging studies with healthy subjects and patients and in-depth neuropsychological assessment of patients with cerebellar disorders shows that the cerebellum has a cardinal role to play in affective regulation, cognitive processing, and linguistic function.

The proposed changes for DSM-5 for SLD and ADHD: international perspectives--Australia, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.

This article presents an international perspective of the proposed changes to the DSM-5 for learning disabilities (LD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) across ten countries: Australia, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We provide perspectives of the present situation for youth with LD and youth with ADHD and describe the legislation, prevalence rates, and educational systems that serve students with disabilities in the respective countries. We also present a discussion of the expected impact of the proposed changes for the diagnosis of LD and ADHD in each country.

Striking the right balance: motor difficulties in children and adults with dyslexia.

Balance difficulties are an enduring feature of dyslexia research, however results have been inconsistent. We propose that between-study heterogeneity may be attributable to variability in balance tasks, balance measurement, participant age, and inclusion of comorbid disorders such as ADHD. This study attempted to clarify these issues, employing quantitative, continuous measures of balance and blindfolded balance, and using both adult and child participants without comorbid ADHD.

Cerebellar volume and cerebellar metabolic characteristics in adults with dyslexia.

Developmental dyslexia is associated with problems in a range of linguistic and non-linguistic skills. Some of those problems have been attributed to dysfunction of the cerebellum and its associated neural systems. Two studies of cerebellar structure were undertaken by our group.

Dyslexia, learning, and pedagogical neuroscience.

The explosion in neuroscientific knowledge has profound implications for education, and we advocate the establishment of the new discipline of 'pedagogical neuroscience' designed to combine psychological, medical, and educational perspectives. We propose that specific learning disabilities provide the crucible in which the discipline may be forged, illustrating the scope by consideration of developmental dyslexia. Current approaches have failed to establish consensus on fundamental issues such as theoretical causes, diagnostic methods, and treatment strategies.

Procedural learning difficulties: reuniting the developmental disorders?

During the past 30 years, research into developmental disorders has fragmented, emphasizing differences rather than commonalities. We propose that reunification might be achieved by using a "neural-systems" approach. Deficits in dyslexia are attributed to an intact declarative learning system combined with an impaired procedural learning system--a network that includes prefrontal language systems and basal ganglia, parietal and cerebellar structures.

Prisms throw light on developmental disorders.

Prism adaptation, in which the participant adapts to prismatic glasses that deflect vision laterally, is a specific test of cerebellar function. Fourteen dyslexic children (mean age 13.5 years); 14 children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD): 6 of whom had comorbid dyslexia; and 12 control children matched for age and IQ underwent prism adaptation (assessed by clay throwing accuracy to a 16.

Balancing and pointing tasks in dyslexic and control adults.

Developmental dyslexia may affect as much as 15% of the population, but the aetiology of the disorder is still being debated. The cerebellar theory of dyslexia proposes that cerebellar dysfunction could lead to the myriad of symptoms seen in dyslexic individuals, both in literacy and non-literacy domains. The cerebellum is crucial to the fluent performance of motor skills.

Impaired balancing ability in dyslexic children.

Children with developmental dyslexia struggle to learn to read and spell despite adequate intelligence and educational opportunity. Several lines of research are attempting to establish the neurobiological basis of dyslexia, and low-level sensory and motor deficits have been found in dyslexic populations; furthermore, behavioural and imaging data point to cerebellar dysfunction in dyslexia. To investigate this, normal readers (n=19) and children with developmental dyslexia (n=16) were asked to perform various cognitive, literacy, and balancing tasks.

Dyslexic students have more everyday cognitive lapses.

There is a dearth of information about the everyday performance difficulties of adult dyslexic people. This study investigates the empirical support for anecdotal reports of increased vulnerability to distraction in dyslexia, using the self-report Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). Two groups of university students, a dyslexic group and a non-dyslexic control group, were asked to complete the CFQ.

The International Adult Literacy Survey in Britain: impact on policy and practice.

There is increasing concern for the skills of the workforce in the UK and elsewhere, but despite this concern until recently there has been little information available which objectively measures basic skills in adults. In this paper, evidence derived from the prose scale of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS, 1996) is outlined, with emphasis on the performance of adults at the lowest levels, 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom. A new analysis based on the 183 adults who self-reported learning disabilities demonstrates that over 50% of this group perform at level 1 on the prose scale.

Dyslexia and music: measuring musical timing skills.

Over the last few decades, a growing amount of research has suggested that dyslexics have particular difficulties with skills involving accurate or rapid timing, including musical timing skills. It has been hypothesised that music training may be able to remediate such timing difficulties, and have a positive effect on fundamental perceptual skills that are important in the development of language and literacy skills (Overy, 2000). In order to explore this hypothesis further, the nature and extent of dyslexics' musical difficulties need to be examined in more detail.

Evidence for a neuroanatomical difference within the olivo-cerebellar pathway of adults with dyslexia.

Recent behavioural evidence has indicated that cerebellar impairment may be strongly associated with dyslexia. Previous neuroanatomical research has shown the presence of anomalies within the cerebral cortex of brains of dyslexic people. This paper reports equivalent analyses on the cerebella of the same brain specimens.

Children with dyslexia are slow to articulate a single speech gesture.

In addition to their well-established problems in phonological processing, children with dyslexia show reduced speed of articulation. Two groups of children with dyslexia, mean ages 13 and 16 years, participated together with two groups of normally achieving children matched for age and IQ, with 33 participants in total. Participants were asked to articulate repeatedly, as fast as they could, either a single articulatory gesture /p/ /t/ or /k/ or the sequence 'putuku'.

Eyeblink conditioning indicates cerebellar abnormality in dyslexia.

There is increasing evidence that cerebellar deficit may be a causal factor in dyslexia. The cerebellum is considered to be the major structure involved in classical conditioning of the eyeblink response. In a direct test of cerebellar function in learning, 13 dyslexic participants (mean age 19.