Problems in how people with dyslexia process the sounds they hear may be at the heart of this learning disorder, new research suggests.
The study findings, published in the Dec. 22 issue of the journal Neuron, may one day lead to better therapies for children and adults who are diagnosed with this common yet still ultimately mysterious condition.
And different people with dyslexia may have differences in brain-processing patterns, which could help distinguish subtypes of the disorder.
Dyslexia affects about 5 percent of school-aged children.
Although we “typically think of dyslexia as an impairment of reading or the printed word, previous research has suggested that there’s an auditory-processing component. . . It’s not just the printed word but also auditory,” said Dr. Andrew Adesman, who was not involved with the study but is familiar with the findings.
Indeed, one of the biggest risk factors for dyslexia is delays in spoken language in young children, said Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, in New Hyde Park.
According to Norman Doidge, author of The Brain that Changes Itself, neuroplasticity means that the nerve cells in our brains and nervous systems are changeable, or can modify themselves. Neuroplasticity enables us to continue learning at any age, or to create new connections to take over weakened functions. We can rewire or reorganize our brains.
The actual structure and function of the brain change through the course of our lives. There is no medical treatment involved. It is a natural phenomenon that occurs within the brain. The requirement for triggering this phenomenon of neuroplasticity is exposure to an activity with intensity, frequency, and duration.
