Dyslexia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dyslexia, including details on learning, reading, education, teaching, treatment.

Impaired visual processing of multi-element arrays is associated with increased number of eye movements in dyslexic reading.

Hawelka S, Wimmer H

Department of Psychology and Center of Neurocognitive Research, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnstr. 34, Salzburg, Austria. stefan.hawelka@sbg.ac.at

For assessing simultaneous visual processing in dyslexic and normal readers a multi-element processing task was used which required the report of a single digit of briefly presented multi-digit arrays. Dyslexic readers exhibited higher recognition thresholds on 4- and 6-digit, but not on 2-digit arrays. Individual recognition thresholds on the multi-digit arrays were associated with number of eye movements during reading. The dyslexic multi-element processing deficit was not accompanied by deficient coherent motion detection or deficient visual precedence detection and was independent from deficits in phonological awareness and rapid naming. However, only about half of the dyslexic readers exhibited a multi-element processing deficit.

Published 12 January 2005 in Vision Res, 45(7): 855-63.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Dyslexia Research Today. All Rights Reserved.