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PubMed2006

Reading ability is negatively related to Stroop interference.

Stroop interference is often taken as evidence for reading automaticity even though young and poor readers, who presumably lack reading automaticity, present strong interference. Here the relationship between reading skills and Stroop interference was studied in a 7th-grade sample. Greater interference was observed in children diagnosed with reading disability (dyslexia) than in unimpaired children. Moreover, poorer reading skills were found to correlate with greater Stroop interference in the general school population. In correlation and regression analyses, interference was primarily associated with reading speed, with an additional unique contribution of reading accuracy. Color naming errors were few and not comparably related to reading skills. The relation of reading skill to Stroop interference was examined in computational modeling simulations. The production model of Roelofs [Roelofs, A. (2003). Goal-referenced selection of verbal action: modeling attentional control in the Stroop task. Psychological Review, 110, 88-125], in which interference is primarily due to word stimuli having direct access to word form encoding whereas color naming must pass through concept activation and lemma selection, was found to account well for the human data after imposing covariation constraints on parameters controlling word processing and blocking latency, in modifications not affecting the model's previous fit to other data. The connectionist model of Cohen, Dunbar, and McClelland [Cohen, J. D., Dunbar, K., & McClelland, J. L. (1990). On the control of automatic processes: a parallel distributed processing account of the Stroop effect. Psychological Review, 97, 332-361], in which interference is caused by differential route strength, implementing an automaticity account, approximated the observed patterns with network-wide parameter manipulations not specific to reading, such as processing speed and response threshold, likely to affect previously optimized performance. On the basis of the empirical and modeling data we argue for a direct link between reading skill and interference, beyond the effects of executive functioning.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Word and non-word reading: what role for the Visual Word Form Area?

The putative role of the so-called Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) during reading remains under debate. For some authors, this region is specifically involved in a pre-lexical processing of words and pseudowords, whereas such specificity is challenged by others given the VWFA involvement during both non-word reading and word listening. Here, we further investigated this issue, measuring BOLD variations and their lateralization with fMRI during word and non-word reading, in order to evaluate the lexicality effect, and during reading and listening of words, in order to evaluate the impact of stimulus delivery modality on word processing networks. Region of interest (ROI) analysis was first performed in three target areas: 1-VWFA as defined by a meta-analysis of the word reading literature, 2-a middle temporal area (T2) found co-activated by both word reading and listening, 3-an inferior occipital area (OI) belonging to the unimodal visual cortex of the inferior occipital gyrus. VWFA activity was found not different between word and non-word reading but was more leftward lateralized during word reading due to a reduction of activity in the VWFA right counterpart. A similar larger leftward lateralization during word reading was also uncovered in the T2 ROI but was related to a larger left side activity. Such a lexicality effect was not observed in the OI ROI. By contrast, BOLD increases during listening were restricted to the left VWFA and T2 ROIs. Voxel-based analysis (SPM99) showed that semantic areas were more active during word than non-word reading and co-activated by both reading and listening, exhibiting a left lateralized activity in all tasks. These results indicate that the left VWFA would be the place where visual and verbal representations bind under the control of left semantic areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Simulation of artificial vision: II. Eccentric reading of full-page text and the learning of this task.

Reading of isolated words in conditions mimicking artificial vision has been found to be a difficult but feasible task. In particular at relatively high eccentricities, a significant adaptation process was required to reach optimal performances [Vision Res. 43 (2003) 269]. The present study addressed the task of full-page reading, including page navigation under control of subject's own eye movements. Conditions of artificial vision mimicking a retinal implant were simulated by projecting stimuli with reduced information content (lines of pixelised text) onto a restricted and eccentric area of the retina. Three subjects, naïve to the task, were trained for almost two months (about 1 h/day) to read full-page texts. Subjects had to use their own eye movements to displace a 10 degrees x 7 degrees viewing window, stabilised at 15 degrees eccentricity in their lower visual field. Initial reading scores were very low for two subjects (about 13% correctly read words), and astonishingly high for the third subject (86% correctly read words). However, all of them significantly improved their performance with time, reaching close to perfect reading scores (ranging from 86% to 98% correct) at the end of the training process. Reading rates were as low as 1-5 words/min at the beginning of the experiment and increased significantly with time to 14-28 words/min. Qualitative text understanding was also estimated. We observed that reading scores of at least 85% correct were necessary to achieve 'good' text understanding. Gaze position recordings, made during the experimental sessions, demonstrated that the control of eye movements, especially the suppression of reflexive vertical saccades, constituted an important part of the overall adaptive learning process. Taken together, these results suggest that retinal implants might restore full-page text reading abilities to blind patients. About 600 stimulation contacts, distributed on an implant surface of 3 x 2 mm2, appear to be a minimum to allow for useful reading performance. A significant learning process will however be required to reach optimal performance with such devices, especially if they have to be placed outside the foveal area.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Scotoma size and reading speed in patients with subfoveal occult choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between reading speed and scotoma size in patients with subfoveal occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) participating at 2 of 28 centers in the Verteporfin in Photodynamic Therapy trial. DESIGN: Prospective, observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients with occult with no classic CNV in AMD. METHODS: Patients' reading speed was examined using a German-language reading test (Radner Lesetest). Scotoma size was measured using the microperimetry program 2.01 of the Rodenstock Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reading acuity, reading speed, size of absolute (AS) and relative scotoma (RS). RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between the size of AS and reading speed (r = -0.48, P = 0.023), as well as AS and reading acuity (r = 0.52, P = 0.013). No correlation was seen between RS and reading speed or reading capacity. CONCLUSION: The size of absolute scotoma correlated significantly with reading capacity and reading speed and may influence these measures.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Probe-detection times during the reading of easy and difficult text.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of text difficulty on cognitive capacity demands. In Experiment 1, subjects read easy and difficult text when a secondary task was either present or absent. Text was presented one word at a time, and rereading was prevented by erasing each word after it had been read. Prior studies have indicated that cognitive capacity demands decrease as text difficulty increases (e.g., Britton, Westbrook, & Holdredge, 1978). In contrast to this, the main results of Experiment 1 revealed shorter visual-probe-detection times during the reading of easy text than during the reading of difficult text. Analyses of word-reading times showed that difficult text was read slower than easy text, irrespective of probe application. Experiment 2 compared visual-probe detection with auditory-probe detection. The results again showed shorter probe reaction times during the reading of easy text than during the reading of difficult text, irrespective of probe type. There were, however, effects of probe type on the reading time of words following the visual probe. The results were taken as evidence that the reading of difficult text requires more capacity than the reading of easy text and that probes may incur modality-specific and modality-independent capacity demands.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Examining multiple sources of influence on the reading comprehension skills of children who use cochlear implants.

Children with profound deafness are at risk for serious reading difficulties. Multiple factors affect their development of reading skills, including use of cochlear implants. Further, multiple factors influence the overall success that children experience with their cochlear implants. These factors include the age at which they receive an implant, method of communication, vocabulary skills, preoperative residual hearing, and socioeconomic status. Ninety-one children with prelingual and profound hearing impairments who received cochlear implants at varying ages participated in the study. Structural equation modeling confirmed that multiple factors affected young cochlear implant users' reading comprehension skills and that there were significant associations between the predictors of reading comprehension. Pre-implant vocabulary had an indirect positive effect on reading through postimplant vocabulary, which had a direct positive effect on reading. Overall, children with stronger language skills demonstrated stronger reading outcomes. Age at implantation both directly and indirectly, through postimplant vocabulary, affected reading outcomes, and the total effect was large. Children who were younger when they received their implants tended to have higher reading comprehension scores. Socioeconomic status negatively affected reading. Children who used total communication prior to implantation tended to have stronger pre-implant vocabulary scores, but the total effect of pre-implant communication method on children's reading skills was negligible. Research and educational implications are discussed.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1994

Reading deficiencies in older patients.

To participate effectively in their health care, older patients often are expected to read a wide variety of materials, including written instructions, brochures, and consent forms. This study quantitates the reading ability of older patients and compares it to that of younger patients. Two hundred seventy-two patients 30 and older were selected from five outpatient clinics at a public teaching hospital and tested for objective reading ability using the Peabody Individual Achievement Test--Revised. The 76 patients 60 and older read significantly worse (grade level 2.9) than the 196 patients younger than 60 (grade level 5.8) (P < 0.0001). Older patients also completed significantly fewer years of school than younger patients (7.3 years versus 10.6 years). Analysis of variance for age categories 30-44, 45-59, 60-74, and 75 and older confirmed declining reading ability and educational status with advancing age. Multiple regression analysis helped show that an equation could be derived to predict reading ability from age, educational status, race, and sex, but the coefficient of determination was so low (r2 = 0.39) that it cannot be considered clinically useful for individual patients. In this study, older patients read significantly worse than younger patients, and a formula that combines age, race, sex, and educational status cannot reliably predict reading ability for individual patients. Most older patients read on a level so low that they cannot be expected to read most commonly used written materials. Routine testing of reading ability may allow more appropriate design and use of written materials.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Saccadic eye movements as a measure of the effect of low vision rehabilitation on reading rate.

We assessed saccadic eye movements and reading capabilities in individuals with macular disease by a masked clinical study to determine whether changes in saccadic frequency were correlated to changes in reading rates or number of errors for a reading task. We used a measure of eye movement characteristics in the form of a saccadic frequency score (SFS). Twelve subjects with macular disease were tested before and after an intense 6-week inpatient vision rehabilitation program. The mean age was 70.9 years (63 to 77 years). Mean visual acuity was 10/100 (10/40 to 10/200). Mean reading rates at entry and discharge were 8.5 words/min and 20.9 words/min, respectively (p = 0.02). SFS improved from 2.709 to 2.022 (p = 0.07). Reading errors improved from 5.60 to 4.00 (p = 0.03). Reading rates and SFS's were highly inversely correlated both pre- and post-treatment (Pearson r = -0.892 and -0.896, respectively). SFS and the number of reading errors were highly correlated with both pre- and post-treatment as well (Pearson r = 0.782 and 0.601, respectively). Interestingly the data appeared to cluster into two groups, one showing improvement and the other showing none. Cluster analysis revealed a strong association among reading rate, saccade scores, and reading errors. Membership in the two clusters is consistent pre- and post-rehabilitation in all but one case. Clustering is most evident for reading rate and reading errors and less so for saccade scores.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Reading rates with artificial central scotomata with and without spatial remapping of print.

People with central field defects resulting from age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) read very slowly. In this study, oral reading rates were determined for unrelated sequences of words in samples of normal young and old subjects with simulated central scotomata of 2 degrees, 4 degrees, and 8 degrees. Scotomata were stabilized at the fovea of the right eye by electronic feedback of eye position, monitored using a SRI dual-Purkinje Eyetracker. Reading rates were determined by jumping print after each stationary presentation through an increasing number of character spaces on different trials. This procedure mimicked the sequence of retinal images produced during the saccades and fixations of normal reading, but without requiring subjects to make accurate eye movements. In Experiment 1, the letter size that yielded the optimal reading rate was found to increase systematically with scotoma size. However, the optimal reading rate decreased more or less linearly as the scotoma size increased. Experiment 2 showed that the optimal reading rate was obtained for essentially the same duration of text presentation, regardless of scotoma size. Experiment 3 investigated the effect of spatial remapping, in which print obscured by the scotoma was stretched electronically to reappear at the scotoma margin. Compared to a nonremapped control condition, spatial remapping produced small but significant increases in reading rate for both 4 degrees and 8 degrees scotomata. Across experiments, average reading rates were faster for the young than the old subjects. Overall, the results define how reading rate is expected to decrease for central scotomata of different sizes and suggest that spatial remapping of print may improve reading rates in patients with ARMD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Reading skills and phonological awareness acquisition in Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Although reading abilities play a fundamental role in the acquisition of personal autonomy, up until now studies investigating these abilities in Down syndrome (DS) are aimed at defining educational or rehabilitation acquisition. However, studies describing the relationship between reading and phonological awareness in individuals with DS by comparing them to typically developing children often report contradictory results. The aim of this study is to explore reading and phonological awareness skills in a group of participants with DS. METHODS: We administered reading and phonological processing ability tests to 17 DS individuals and to 17 reading-age-matched typically developing children. RESULTS: Concerning reading abilities, participants with DS were impaired on non-word reading and on interpreting accuracy of non-homographic homophones. Their passage comprehension was also limited. Comparable ability was reported in the two groups on irregular word reading and passage reading tasks. Regarding phonological awareness ability, individuals with DS showed lower performances on several tasks, such as rhyming, deletion and syllable segmentation. CONCLUSIONS: People with DS show particular failure on non-word reading, a task where correct decoding is only partially influenced by lexical access or semantic context. Correct non-word reading mainly requires the use of the grapheme-phoneme conversion process. This process is based on the efficiency of phonological awareness abilities, which are partly impaired in people with DS. The rehabilitative implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Monocular and binocular reading performance in children with microstrabismic amblyopia.

AIM: To evaluate if functionally relevant deficits in reading performance exist in children with essential microstrabismic amblyopia by comparing the monocular and binocular reading performance with the reading performance of normal sighted children with full visual acuity in both eyes. METHODS: The reading performance of 40 children (mean age 11.6 (SD 1.4) years) was evaluated monocularly and binocularly in randomised order, using standardised reading charts for the simultaneous determination of reading acuity and speed. 20 of the tested children were under treatment for unilateral microstrabismic amblyopia (visual acuity in the amblyopic eyes: logMAR 0.19 (0.15); fellow eyes -0.1 (0.07)); the others were normal sighted controls (visual acuity in the right eyes -0.04 (0.15); left eyes -0.08 (0.07)). RESULTS: In respect of the binocular maximum reading speed (MRS), significant differences were found between the children with microstrabismic amblyopia and the normal controls (p = 0.03): whereas the controls achieved a binocular MRS of 200.4 (11) wpm (words per minute), the children with unilateral amblyopia achieved only a binocular MRS of 172.9 (43.9) wpm. No significant differences between the two groups were found in respect of the binocular logMAR visual acuity and reading acuity (p>0.05). For the monocular reading performance, significant impairment was found in the amblyopic eyes, whereas no significant differences were found between the sound fellow eyes of the amblyopic children and the control group. CONCLUSION: In binocular MRS, significant differences could be found between children with microstrabismic amblyopia and normal controls. This result indicates the presence of a functionally relevant reading impairment, even though the binocular visual acuity and reading acuity were both comparable with the control group.

Amblyopia↗
PubMed2006

New standardised texts for assessing reading performance in four European languages.

AIMS: To develop standardised texts for assessing reading speed during repeated measurements and across languages for normal subjects and low vision patients. METHODS: 10 texts were designed by linguistic experts in English, Finnish, French, and German. The texts were at the level of a sixth grade reading material (reading ages 10-12 years) and were matched for length (830 (plus or minus 2) characters) and syntactic complexity, according to the syntactic prediction locality theory of Gibson. 100 normally sighted native speaking volunteers aged 18-35 years (25 per language) read each text aloud in randomised order. The newly designed text battery was then applied to test the reading performance of 100 normally sighted native speaking volunteers aged 60-85 years (25 per language). RESULTS: Reading speed was not significantly different with at least seven texts in all four languages. The maximum reading speed difference between texts, in the same language was 6.8% (Finnish). Average reading speeds (SD) in characters per minute are, for the young observer group: English 1234 (147), Finnish 1263 (142), French 1214 (152), German 1126 (105). The group of older readers showed statistically significant lower average reading speeds: English 951 (97), Finnish 1014 (179), French 1131 (160), German 934 (117). CONCLUSION: The authors have developed a set of standardised, homogeneous, and comparable texts in four European languages (English, Finnish, French, German). These texts will be a valuable tool for measuring reading speed in international studies in the field of reading and low vision research.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relative effectiveness of reading practice or word-level instruction in supplemental tutoring: how text matters.

In this quasi-experimental study, which is part of a series of investigations on supplemental reading tutoring variations, the relative effectiveness of more intense decoding instruction or text reading practice was examined. Fifty-seven first-grade students scoring in the lowest quartile for reading skills received either classroom reading instruction or one of two treatments: tutoring in word study with text reading practice, or word study tutoring alone. Individual instruction was provided by trained paraprofessional tutors. At the end of first grade, treatment students significantly outperformed their nontutored peers on measures of reading accuracy, reading comprehension, reading efficiency, passage reading fluency, and spelling. Differential treatment effects on passage reading fluency are examined, taking into consideration pretest skill levels and text reading practice characteristics.

Child↗
PubMed1993

A comparison of fast-rate, slow-rate, and silent previewing interventions on reading performance.

Researchers investigated the effects of three different previewing interventions on the oral reading rates of 12 junior and senior high school students with learning disabilities. Under fast-rate listening previewing (FRLP), students were instructed to follow silently as experimenters read from a text at an average rate that was 77.7% faster than the students' current oral reading rate. During slow-rate listening previewing (SRLP), students followed along as experimenters read at an average rate that was 22.5% faster than the students' reading rate. Students were instructed to read passages silently under silent previewing (SP). Immediately following each previewing intervention, students read the same passage aloud. The number of words read correctly per minute and the number of errors per minute served as dependent variables. The results showed statistically significant decreases in error rates under SRLP and SP. The results also showed that SRLP resulted in statistically significantly fewer errors per minute than FRLP. These results suggest that orally reading while students follow along at a rate much higher than their current reading rates may not be as beneficial as reading aloud at slower rates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Verbal and visual problems in reading disability.

Most individuals interested in reading disability favor the view that disordered language processing is the main cause of children's reading problems and that visual problems are seldom, if ever, responsible. Nevertheless, in a preliminary study (Eden, Stein, & Wood, 1993) we showed that visuospatial and oculomotor tests can be used to differentiate children with reading disabilities from nondisabled children. In the present study we investigated a larger sample of children to see if these findings held true. Using 93 children from the Bowman Gray Learning Disability Project (mean age = 11.3 years; 54 boys, 39 girls), we compared the phonological and visuospatial abilities of nondisabled children (children whose reading at fifth grade rated a Woodcock-Johnson reading standardized score between 85 and 115), and children with reading disability (whose reading standardized score was below 85 on the Woodcock-Johnson). In addition to performing poorly on verbal tests, the children with reading disability were significantly worse than nondisabled children at many visual and eye-movement tasks. A high proportion of the variance (68%) in reading ability of both the nondisabled children and those with reading disability could be predicted by combining visual and phonological scores in a multiple regression. These results provide further support for the hypothesis that reading disability may, to some extent, result from dysfunction of the visual and oculomotor systems.

Brain↗
PubMed2006

Executive functions in becoming writing readers and reading writers: note taking and report writing in third and fifth graders.

Results are reported for a study of 2 separate processes of report writing-taking notes while reading source material and composing a report from those notes-and related individual differences in executive functions involved in integrating reading and writing during these writing activities. Third graders (n = 122) and 5th graders (n = 106; overall, 127 girls and 114 boys) completed two reading-writing tasks-read paragraph (mock science text)-write notes and use notes to generate written report, a reading comprehension test, a written expression test, four tests of executive functions (inhibition, verbal fluency, planning, switching attention), and a working memory test. For the read-take notes task, the same combination of variables was best (explained the most variance and each variable added unique variance) for 3rd graders and 5th graders: Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II) Reading Comprehension, Process Assessment of the Learner Test for Reading and Writing (PAL) Copy Task B, WIAT-II Written Expression, and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Inhibition. For the use notes to write report task, the best combinations of variables depended on grade level: For 3rd graders, WIAT-II Reading Comprehension, WIAT-II Written Expression, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency, and Tower of Hanoi; for 5th graders, WIAT-II Reading Comprehension, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency, WIAT-II Written Expression, and PAL Alphabet Task. These results add to prior research findings that executive functions contribute to the writing development of elementary-grade students and additionally support the hypothesis that executive functions play a role in developing reading-writing connections.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2002

General cognitive ability in children with reading comprehension difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Children with specific reading comprehension difficulties read accurately and fluently but are poor at understanding what they read. AIMS: This study investigated cognitive ability in children with poor reading comprehension with a view to determining the relationship between general cognitive ability and specific reading comprehension difficulty. SAMPLE: Twenty-five poor comprehenders and 24 control children, matched for chronological age and word reading ability, participated in this study. METHODS: General conceptual ability (GCA) was assessed using the British Ability Scales (2(nd) edition; BAS-II); good and poor comprehenders' performance on different subscales was compared and related to underlying skills in reading accuracy, reading comprehension and number. RESULTS: There was a general tendency for poor comprehenders to achieve lower scores on verbal tasks than on non-verbal and spatial tasks. Although the poor comprehenders scored significantly below the control children across most subtests, most obtained GCA scores within the normal range. For these children, reading comprehension was significantly below GCA-expected levels. A subset of poor comprehenders with below average GCA showed a clear hyperlexic profile in which comprehension was not unexpectedly poor but rather, reading accuracy was surprisingly good. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the heterogeneity of children presenting with poor reading comprehension. Although most poor comprehenders have weaknesses that appear to be restricted to the verbal domain, a minority have more general cognitive impairments.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Functional abnormalities in the neural circuitry of reading in men with nonsyndromic clefts of the lip or palate.

OBJECTIVE: The current study was designed to evaluate the neurobiology of reading in a group of men with nonsyndromic clefts of the lip or palate (NSCLP) compared with healthy controls by positron emission tomography. DESIGN: SUBJECTS included eight men with NSCLP compared with six healthy control men. By using radioactively labeled water (O(15)), regional brain blood flow was obtained during the performance of three simple reading tasks: reading unrelated words, reading unrelated sentences, and reading a story. RESULTS: During each of the reading conditions, NSCLP subjects compared with healthy controls showed increased blood flow in areas previously reported to be involved in language processing and reading (inferior frontal lobe, cerebellum, and occipital lobe). The increased blood flow suggests a possible neural inefficiency. In contrast, when analyzing the brain regions involved in more complex language functioning (reading stories compared with reading only words), control subjects showed an increase in blood flow in a distributed neural circuit, whereas the NSCLP subjects showed a decrease in flow in these regions. Additionally, the NSCLP subjects had activation of several regions not activated in the healthy controls, suggesting a compensatory circuit used for this more complex reading task. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that subjects with NSCLP show abnormalities in the function of the distributed neural circuitry used for oral reading.

Adult↗