Dyslexia News and Research

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Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes itself manifest primarily as a difficulty with the visual notation of speech or written language, particularly with reading the various man-made writing systems. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction. This suggests that dyslexia results from differences in how the brain processes written and spoken language.

Researchers identify genetic variants that can predispose children to dyslexia, language impairment

A new study of the genetic origins of dyslexia and other learning disabilities could allow for earlier diagnoses and more successful interventions, according to researchers at Yale School of Medicine. Many students now are not diagnosed until high school, at which point treatments are less effective.

14 Jun 2013

Weekend reading: Mental illness stigma, health insurance mazes and female libido

Linneah sat at a desk at the Center for Sexual Medicine at Sheppard Pratt in the suburbs of Baltimore and filled out a questionnaire. She read briskly, making swift checks beside her selected answers, and when she was finished, she handed the pages across the desk to Martina Miller, who gave her a round of pills.

24 May 2013

HoD assistance agent: New app to help older people solve everyday tasks and problems

A new smartphone application, developed by scientists at the University of Ulster, which could help older people engage fully in an increasingly self-serve society, may be ready for use by the end of the year.

23 May 2013

Neuroscientists find significant differences in brain anatomy of dyslexic people

Using MRI, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups, suggesting that the disorder may have a different brain-based manifestation based on sex.

9 May 2013

Study gives insight into underlying causes of specific learning disabilities

Up to 10 per cent of the population is affected by specific learning disabilities (SLDs), such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and autism, translating to two or three pupils in every classroom, a new study has found.

29 Apr 2013

Study challenges correlation between bad behaviors in children with hearing implants, language delay

A new study presented today at the 48th Annual American Neurotology Society spring meeting is challenging a long held belief among speech therapists and audiologists that bad behavior in young children with hearing implants is an indicator of device failure and a predictor of poor language development.

15 Apr 2013

Life-changing ChromaGen lenses for people with dyslexia, other reading disorders

Words that move from left to right or up and down, words that are blurry or come in and out of focus or words that appear to float on the page, seeing double words or double sentences, re-reading the same lines - these are some of the reading difficulties that students everywhere are struggling with.

3 Apr 2013

'Better Vision' app can support visually impaired and dyslectic people

To support visually impaired and dyslectic people in their efforts to read, the 'Better Vision' app has been developed: a functional and handy all-in-one app that magnifies text and reads English, German, Spanish or Dutch text out loud on iPhones, iPads (mini) and Android devices.

6 Feb 2013

New combination of neural imaging methods discovers brain's ability to adapt to injury

For the first time, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging (CCBI) have used a new combination of neural imaging methods to discover exactly how the human brain adapts to injury.

17 Jan 2013

Researchers discover health similarities between humans and pigs

An international scientific collaboration that includes two Kansas State University researchers is bringing home the bacon when it comes to potential animal and human health advancements, thanks to successfully mapping the genome of the domestic pig.

17 Nov 2012

Music underlies the ability to acquire language

Contrary to the prevailing theories that music and language are cognitively separate or that music is a byproduct of language, theorists at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) advocate that music underlies the ability to acquire language.

19 Sep 2012

Tips for parents to help their kids get a smart start to the academic year

The first day of school always requires preparations -- notebooks, pens and a new set of clothes. But don't forget to prepare for your child's health, says Dr. Joan Bregstein, a physician in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

30 Aug 2012

Strong neural communication between the hemispheres predicts math performance

A new study by researchers at UT Dallas' Center for Vital Longevity, Duke University, and the University of Michigan has found that the strength of communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain predicts performance on basic arithmetic problems. The findings shed light on the neural basis of human math abilities and suggest a possible route to aiding those who suffer from dyscalculia-- an inability to understand and manipulate numbers.

30 Aug 2012

Scientists discover important neural mechanism underlying dyslexia

To participate successfully in life, it is important to be able to read and write. Nevertheless, many children and adults have difficulties in acquiring these skills and the reason is not always obvious. They suffer from dyslexia which can have a variety of symptoms. Thanks to research carried out by Bego-a D-az and her colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, a major step forward has been made in understanding the cause of dyslexia.

8 Aug 2012

Adult human brain remarkably malleable and capable of new feats

There is growing evidence that, beyond what was previously believed, the adult human brain is remarkably malleable and capable of new feats -- even in the last decades of life.

2 Aug 2012

Study demonstrates how nerve stimulation paired with specific experiences can reorganize the brain

UT Dallas researchers recently demonstrated how nerve stimulation paired with specific experiences, such as movements or sounds, can reorganize the brain. This technology could lead to new treatments for stroke, tinnitus, autism and other disorders.

20 Jul 2012

Pre-concussion baseline testing now available at three Vanderbilt clinics

The Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center is now offering pre-concussion baseline testing to all community recreational athletes in advance of many high-impact seasonal sports resuming this fall.

17 Jul 2012

Study explores effects of letter spacing on the reading ability of dyslexic children

Increasing the spacing between characters and words in a text improves the speed and quality of dyslexic children's reading, without prior training. They read 20% faster on average and make half as many errors. This is the conclusion reached by a French-Italian research team, jointly headed by Johannes Ziegler of the Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive.

8 Jun 2012

Non-invasive brain stimulation cuts time to improve speech in stroke patients

One of the most frustrating challenges for some stroke patients can be the inability to find and speak words even if they know what they want to say. Speech therapy is laborious and can take months. New research is seeking to cut that time significantly, with the help of non-invasive brain stimulation.

2 Apr 2012

FSU receives NIH grant to better understand and diagnose dyslexia

If you can read this sentence with ease, consider yourself fortunate: Millions of Americans with dyslexia cannot. In the hope of improving the lives of those struggling readers, a team of experts at Florida State University is working to better understand and diagnose dyslexia and other learning disabilities with a new, $8.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

23 Feb 2012