Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Behavioral and Brain Functions
Published in: Behavioral and Brain Functions 1/2006

Open Access 01-12-2006 | Research

Parietal function in good and poor readers

Authors: Robin Laycock, Sheila G. Crewther, Patricia M. Kiely, David P. Crewther

Published in: Behavioral and Brain Functions | Issue 1/2006

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

While there are many psychophysical reports of impaired magnocellular pathway function in developmental dyslexia (DD), few have investigated parietal function, the major projection of this pathway, in good and poor readers closely matched for nonverbal intelligence. In view of new feedforward-feedback theories of visual processing, impaired magnocellular function raises the question of whether all visually-driven functions or only those associated with parietal cortex functions are equally impaired and if so, whether parietal performance is more closely related to general ability levels than reading ability.

Methods

Reading accuracy and performance on psychophysical tasks purported to selectively activate parietal cortex such as motion sensitivity, attentional tracking, and spatial localization was compared in 17 children with DD, 16 younger reading-age matched (RA) control children, and 46 good readers of similar chronological-age (CA) divided into CA-HighIQ and a CA-LowIQ matched to DD group nonverbal IQ.

Results

In the age-matched groups no significant differences were found between DD and CA controls on any of the tasks relating to parietal function, although performance of the DD group and their nonverbal IQ scores was always lower. As expected, CA and RA group comparisons indicated purported parietal functioning improves with age. No difference in performance was seen on any of the parietally driven tasks between the DD and age-nonverbal IQ matched groups, whereas performance differentiated the DD group from the age-matched, higher nonverbal IQ group on several such tasks. An unexpected statistical difference in performance between lower reading age (DD and RA children) and all higher reading age (CA) children was seen on a test of chromatic sensitivity, whereas when high and low nonverbal IQ normal readers were compared performance was not different

Conclusion

The results indicate that performance on purported parietal functions improves with age and may be more associated with nonverbal mentation than reading accuracy. Performance on a cognitively demanding task, traditionally considered to rely on ventral stream functions, was more related to reading accuracy.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Shaywitz SE, Shaywitz BA, Fletcher JM, Escobar MD: Prevalence of reading disability in boys and girls. Results of the Connecticut Longitudinal Study. JAMA. 1990, 264 (8): 998-1002. 10.1001/jama.264.8.998.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Paulesu E, Demonet JF, Fazio F, McCrory E, Chanoine V, Brunswick N, Cappa SF, Cossu G, Habib M, Frith CD, Frith U: Dyslexia: cultural diversity and biological unity. Science. 2001, 291 (5511): 2165-2167. 10.1126/science.1057179.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Demb JB, Boynton GM, Best M, Heeger DJ: Psychophysical evidence for a magnocellular pathway deficit in dyslexia. Vision Res. 1998, 38 (11): 1555-1559. 10.1016/S0042-6989(98)00075-3.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Shaywitz SE, Fletcher JM, Holahan JM, Shneider AE, Marchione KE, Stuebing KK, Francis DJ, Pugh KR, Shaywitz BA: Persistence of dyslexia: the Connecticut Longitudinal Study at adolescence. Pediatrics. 1999, 104 (6): 1351-1359. 10.1542/peds.104.6.1351.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Nicolson RI, Fawcett AJ, Dean P: Developmental dyslexia: the cerebellar deficit hypothesis. Trends Neurosci. 2001, 24 (9): 508-511. 10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01896-8.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Lovegrove W, Slaghuis W, Bowling A, Nelson P, Geeves E: Spatial frequency processing and the prediction of reading ability: a preliminary investigation. Percept Psychophys. 1986, 40 (6): 440-444.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Livingstone MS, Rosen GD, Drislane FW, Galaburda AM: Physiological and anatomical evidence for a magnocellular defect in developmental dyslexia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991, 88 (18): 7943-7947. 10.1073/pnas.88.18.7943.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
8.
Stein J, Walsh V: To see but not to read; the magnocellular theory of dyslexia. Trends Neurosci. 1997, 20 (4): 147-152. 10.1016/S0166-2236(96)01005-3.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Hansen PC, Stein JF, Orde SR, Winter JL, Talcott JB: Are dyslexics' visual deficits limited to measures of dorsal stream function?. Neuroreport. 2001, 12 (7): 1527-1530. 10.1097/00001756-200105250-00045.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Jaskowski P, Rusiak P: Posterior parietal cortex and developmental dyslexia. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis. 2005, 65 (1): 79-94.PubMed
11.
Kronbichler M, Hutzler F, Wimmer H: Dyslexia: verbal impairments in the absence of magnocellular impairments. Neuroreport. 2002, 13 (5): 617-620. 10.1097/00001756-200204160-00016.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Skottun BC: The magnocellular deficit theory of dyslexia: the evidence from contrast sensitivity. Vision Res. 2000, 40 (1): 111-127. 10.1016/S0042-6989(99)00170-4.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Skoyles J, Skottun BC: On the prevalence of magnocellular deficits in the visual system of non-dyslexic individuals. Brain Lang. 2004, 88 (1): 79-82. 10.1016/S0093-934X(03)00162-7.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Stuart GW, McAnally KI, Castles A: Can contrast sensitivity functions in dyslexia be explained by inattention rather than a magnocellular deficit?. Vision Res. 2001, 41 (24): 3205-3211. 10.1016/S0042-6989(01)00176-6.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Borsting E, Ridder WH, Dudeck K, Kelley C, Matsui L, Motoyama J: The presence of a magnocellular defect depends on the type of dyslexia. Vision Res. 1996, 36 (7): 1047-1053. 10.1016/0042-6989(95)00199-9.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Farrag AF, Khedr EM, Abel-Naser W: Impaired parvocellular pathway in dyslexic children. Eur J Neurol. 2002, 9 (4): 359-363. 10.1046/j.1468-1331.2002.00410.x.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Maunsell JH, Nealey TA, DePriest DD: Magnocellular and parvocellular contributions to responses in the middle temporal visual area (MT) of the macaque monkey. J Neurosci. 1990, 10 (10): 3323-3334.PubMed
18.
Steinman SB, Steinman BA, Garzia RP: Vision and attention. II: Is visual attention a mechanism through which a deficient magnocellular pathway might cause reading disability?. Optom Vis Sci. 1998, 75 (9): 674-681.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Ferrera VP, Nealey TA, Maunsell JH: Mixed parvocellular and magnocellular geniculate signals in visual area V4. Nature. 1992, 358 (6389): 756-761. 10.1038/358756a0.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Iles J, Walsh V, Richardson A: Visual search performance in dyslexia. Dyslexia. 2000, 6 (3): 163-177. 10.1002/1099-0909(200007/09)6:3<163::AID-DYS150>3.0.CO;2-U.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Rutkowski JS, Crewther DP, Crewther SG: Change detection is impaired in children with dyslexia. J Vis. 2003, 3 (1): 95-105. 10.1167/3.1.10.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Beck DM, Rees G, Frith CD, Lavie N: Neural correlates of change detection and change blindness. Nat Neurosci. 2001, 4 (6): 645-650. 10.1038/88477.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Amitay S, Ben-Yehudah G, Banai K, Ahissar M: Disabled readers suffer from visual and auditory impairments but not from a specific magnocellular deficit. Brain. 2002, 125 (Pt 10): 2272-2285. 10.1093/brain/awf231.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Casco C, Prunetti E: Visual search of good and poor readers: effects with targets having single and combined features. Percept Mot Skills. 1996, 82 (3 Pt 2): 1155-1167.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Brannan JR, Williams MC: Allocation of visual attention in good and poor readers. Percept Psychophys. 1987, 41 (1): 23-28.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Vidyasagar TR, Pammer K: Impaired visual search in dyslexia relates to the role of the magnocellular pathway in attention. NeuroReport. 1999, 10 (6): 1283-1287.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Facoetti A, Paganoni P, Turatto M, Marzola V, Mascetti GG: Visual-spatial attention in developmental dyslexia. Cortex. 2000, 36 (1): 109-123.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Corbetta M, Shulman GL, Miezin FM, Petersen SE: Superior parietal cortex activation during spatial attention shifts and visual feature conjunction. Science. 1995, 270 (5237): 802-805.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Corbetta M, Kincade JM, Shulman GL: Neural systems for visual orienting and their relationships to spatial working memory. J Cogn Neurosci. 2002, 14 (3): 508-523. 10.1162/089892902317362029.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Braddick OJ, O'Brien JM, Wattam-Bell J, Atkinson J, Turner R: Form and motion coherence activate independent, but not dorsal/ventral segregated, networks in the human brain. Curr Biol. 2000, 10 (12): 731-734. 10.1016/S0960-9822(00)00540-6.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Seidemann E, Poirson AB, Wandell BA, Newsome WT: Color signals in area MT of the macaque monkey. Neuron. 1999, 24 (4): 911-917. 10.1016/S0896-6273(00)81038-7.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Wandell BA, Poirson AB, Newsome WT, Baseler HA, Boynton GM, Huk A, Gandhi S, Sharpe LT: Color signals in human motion-selective cortex. Neuron. 1999, 24 (4): 901-909. 10.1016/S0896-6273(00)81037-5.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Bullier J: Integrated model of visual processing. Brain Res Rev. 2001, 36 (2-3): 96-107. 10.1016/S0165-0173(01)00085-6.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Sincich LC, Park KF, Wohlgemuth MJ, Horton JC: Bypassing V1: a direct geniculate input to area MT. Nat Neurosci. 2004, 7 (10): 1123-1128. 10.1038/nn1318.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Ruppertsberg AI, Wuerger SM, Bertamini M: The chromatic input to global motion perception. Vis Neurosci. 2003, 20 (4): 421-428. 10.1017/S0952523803204077.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Skottun BC, Skoyles JR: Is coherent motion an appropriate test for magnocellular sensitivity?. Brain Cogn. 2006, 61 (2): 172-80. 10.1016/j.bandc.2005.12.004.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Cotton SM, Crewther DP, Crewther SG: Measurement error: Implications for diagnosis and discrepancy models of developmental dyslexia. Dyslexia. 2005, 11 (3): 186-202. 10.1002/dys.298.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Fletcher JM, Francis DJ, Rourke BP, Shaywitz SE, Shaywitz BA: The validity of discrepancy-based definitions of reading disabilities. J Learn Disabil. 1992, 25 (9): 555-61, 573..CrossRefPubMed
39.
Siegel LS: Why we do not need intelligence test scores in the definition and analyses of learning disabilities. J Learn Disabil. 1989, 22 (8): 514-518.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Vellutino FR, Scanlon DM, Lyon GR: Differentiating between difficult-to-remediate and readily remediated poor readers: more evidence against the IQ-achievement discrepancy definition of reading disability. J Learn Disabil. 2000, 33 (3): 223-238.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Rutter M, Yule W: The concept of specific reading retardation. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1975, 16 (3): 181-197.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Gray JR, Chabris CF, Braver TS: Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence. Nat Neurosci. 2003, 6 (3): 316-322. 10.1038/nn1014.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Lee KH, Choi YY, Gray JR, Cho SH, Chae JH, Lee S, Kim K: Neural correlates of superior intelligence: stronger recruitment of posterior parietal cortex. Neuroimage. 2006, 29 (2): 578-586. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.07.036.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Hulslander J, Talcott J, Witton C, DeFries J, Pennington B, Wadsworth S, Willcutt E, Olson R: Sensory processing, reading, IQ, and attention. J Exp Child Psychol. 2004, 88 (3): 274-295. 10.1016/j.jecp.2004.03.006.CrossRefPubMed
45.
Ungerleider LG, Mishkin M: Two cortical visual systems. Analysis of Visual Behaviour. Edited by: Ingle DJ, Goodale MA, Mansfield RJW. 1982, Cambridge, MA , MIT Press
46.
Culham JC, Brandt SA, Cavanagh P, Kanwisher NG, Dale AM, Tootell RB: Cortical fMRI activation produced by attentive tracking of moving targets. J Neurophysiol. 1998, 80 (5): 2657-2670.PubMed
47.
Battelli L, Cavanagh P, Intriligator J, Tramo MJ, Henaff MA, Michel F, Barton JJ: Unilateral right parietal damage leads to bilateral deficit for high-level motion. Neuron. 2001, 32 (6): 985-995. 10.1016/S0896-6273(01)00536-0.CrossRefPubMed
48.
Schiller PH, Logothetis NK, Charles ER: Role of the color-opponent and broad-band channels in vision. Vis Neurosci. 1990, 5 (4): 321-346.CrossRefPubMed
49.
Davis C, Castles A, McAnally K, Gray J: Lapses of concentration and dyslexic performance on the Ternus task. Cognition. 2001, 81 (2): B21-31. 10.1016/S0010-0277(01)00129-9.CrossRefPubMed
50.
Williams MJ, Stuart GW, Castles A, McAnally KI: Contrast sensitivity in subgroups of developmental dyslexia. Vision Res. 2003, 43 (4): 467-477. 10.1016/S0042-6989(02)00573-4.CrossRefPubMed
51.
Stanley G, Hall R: Short-term visual information processing in dyslexics. Child Dev. 1973, 44 (4): 841-844.PubMed
52.
Barnard N, Crewther SG, Crewther DP: Development of a magnocellular function in good and poor primary school-age readers. Optom Vis Sci. 1998, 75 (1): 62-68.CrossRefPubMed
53.
Crewther SG, Crewther DP, Barnard N, Klistorner A: Electrophysiological and psychophysical evidence for the development of magnocellular function in children. Aust N Z J Ophthalmol. 1996, 24 (2 Suppl): 38-40.CrossRefPubMed
54.
Crewther SG, Crewther DP, Klistorner A, Kiely PM: Development of the magnocellular VEP in children: implications for reading disability. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol Suppl. 1999, 49: 123-128.PubMed
55.
Vincent DM, Crumpler MM: Reading Progress Test. 1997, Hodder Stoughton
56.
Neale MDMD: Neale analysis of reading ability - revised / Marie D. Neale. 1988, Hawthorn, Vic : , A.C.E.R,, Rev. ed. [i.e. 3rd ed.].
57.
Raven JC, Court JH, Raven J: Coloured Progressive Matrices. 1990, Oxford , Oxford Psychologists Press
58.
Prabhakaran V, Smith JA, Desmond JE, Glover GH, Gabrieli JD: Neural substrates of fluid reasoning: an fMRI study of neocortical activation during performance of the Raven's Progressive Matrices Test. Cognit Psychol. 1997, 33 (1): 43-63. 10.1006/cogp.1997.0659.CrossRefPubMed
59.
Cornelissen PL, Hansen PC, Hutton JL, Evangelinou V, Stein JF: Magnocellular visual function and children's single word reading. Vision Res. 1998, 38 (3): 471-482. 10.1016/S0042-6989(97)00199-5.CrossRefPubMed
60.
Cornelissen P, Richardson A, Mason A, Fowler S, Stein J: Contrast sensitivity and coherent motion detection measured at photopic luminance levels in dyslexics and controls. Vision Res. 1995, 35 (10): 1483-1494. 10.1016/0042-6989(95)98728-R.CrossRefPubMed
61.
Hess RF, Holliday IE: The spatial localization deficit in amblyopia. Vision Res. 1992, 32 (7): 1319-1339. 10.1016/0042-6989(92)90225-8.CrossRefPubMed
62.
Pylyshyn ZW, Storm RW: Tracking multiple independent targets: evidence for a parallel tracking mechanism. Spat Vis. 1988, 3 (3): 179-197.CrossRefPubMed
63.
Maunsell JH: Functional visual streams. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1992, 2 (4): 506-510. 10.1016/0959-4388(92)90188-Q.CrossRefPubMed
64.
Martin PR, White AJ, Goodchild AK, Wilder HD, Sefton AE: Evidence that blue-on cells are part of the third geniculocortical pathway in primates. Eur J Neurosci. 1997, 9 (7): 1536-1541. 10.1111/j.1460-9568.1997.tb01509.x.CrossRefPubMed
65.
Culham JC, Kanwisher NG: Neuroimaging of cognitive functions in human parietal cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2001, 11 (2): 157-163. 10.1016/S0959-4388(00)00191-4.CrossRefPubMed
66.
Gordon GE, McCulloch DL: A VEP investigation of parallel visual pathway development in primary school age children. Doc Ophthalmol. 1999, 99 (1): 1-10. 10.1023/A:1002171011644.CrossRefPubMed
67.
Everatt J, Bradshaw MF, Hibbard PB: Visual processing and dyslexia. Perception. 1999, 28 (2): 243-254. 10.1068/p2743.CrossRefPubMed
68.
Leff AP, Scott SK, Rothwell JC, Wise RJ: The planning and guiding of reading saccades: a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation study. Cereb Cortex. 2001, 11 (10): 918-923. 10.1093/cercor/11.10.918.CrossRefPubMed
69.
Behrmann M, Geng JJ, Shomstein S: Parietal cortex and attention. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2004, 14 (2): 212-217. 10.1016/j.conb.2004.03.012.CrossRefPubMed
70.
Siegel LS: Definitional and theoretical issues and research on learning disabilities. J Learn Disabil. 1988, 21 (5): 264-266.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Parietal function in good and poor readers
Authors
Robin Laycock
Sheila G. Crewther
Patricia M. Kiely
David P. Crewther
Publication date
01-12-2006
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Behavioral and Brain Functions / Issue 1/2006
Electronic ISSN: 1744-9081
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-9081-2-26

Other articles of this Issue 1/2006

Behavioral and Brain Functions 1/2006 Go to the issue

Short paper

Lack of association between COMT gene and deficit/nondeficit schizophrenia

Research

The C(-1019)G 5-HT1A promoter polymorphism and personality traits: no evidence for significant association in alcoholic patients

Research

Impaired neural networks for approximate calculation in dyscalculic children: a functional MRI study

Research

Chronic exposure to MDMA (Ecstasy) elicits behavioral sensitization in rats but fails to induce cross-sensitization to other psychostimulants

Research

Long-term effects of a single adult methamphetamine challenge: Minor impact on dopamine fibre density in limbic brain areas of gerbils

Research

A QTL on rat chromosome 7 modulates prepulse inhibition, a neuro-behavioral trait of ADHD, in a Lewis x SHR intercross