Reading problems for dyslexics are thought to be caused, in part, by impaired visual attention. Researchers from the Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) looked into this hypothesis by conducting a study, published in the journal Clinical neurophysiology, on dyslexic subjects and people without reading difficulties. The group was subjected to an attentional test in front of a screen on which a series of arrows pointing in the same direction or in different directions had been displayed.
The researchers asked study participants to stare at the center point of the screen without saying which way the center arrow was pointing. After recording the electroencephalographic activity of each volunteer, the scientists found that when the arrows go in different directions (incongruent stimuli), people with dyslexia have more problems than people without reading difficulties. “The literature reports difficulties in dealing with distracting elements in dyslexic subjects”, explains Anne Bonnefond, co-author of the study. “They are slower to react to incongruous stimuli. This would be linked to a disturbance of their visuospatial attention: the left visual field seems underinvested while the right visual field seems on the contrary overinvested. Hence possible reading difficulties” .
Inserm researchers intend to determine “in what way these attentional deficits are specific to dyslexia, in particular by comparing dyslexic subjects to other populations with less significant reading delay (poor readers)”, specifies the website of the Institute. “This could make it possible to identify markers of dyslexia and improve the management of this disorder by integrating suitable exercises, for example to train visuospatial attention”, concludes Anne Bonnefond.
