Visual Stimuli Does Not Cause Dyslexia

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Dyslexia is a learning disabilities that affects at least 12 percent of the U.S. population. People with dyslexia often have reading deficits and some exhibit subtle weaknesses in processing visual stimuli. Scientists have speculated whether these deficits represent the primary cause of dyslexia, with visual dysfunction directly impacting the ability to learn to read. A study led by the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) demonstrates that they do not.
Using new brain imaging researchers were able to prove that differences in the visual system do not cause the disorder, but instead are likely a consequence.
"In fact our results confirm that differences do exist in the visual system of children with dyslexia, but these differences are the end-product of less reading, when compared with typical readers, and are not the cause of their struggles with reading,” senior author Guinevere Eden, PhD, director for the Center for the Study of Learning at GUMC, was quoted as saying.
For more information go to: http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=70686&PageTemplateID=295
SOURCE: Neuron, June 2013