Reviewed is research in the neurophysiology of cognitive functions as it related to dyslexia. (DB)

The author, searching for possible neurological anomalies behind a learning disability, focuses on the theory that faulty lateralization is implicated in reading difficulties. (Author)

This paper examines the influence of Norman Geschwind's model of connectionism, in which complex functions are built up by connecting primary areas in the brain, and notes his studies of the effects of disconnection on dyslexic individuals. Connectionist-based behavioral studies are reviewed, focusing on intracortical association connections and…

Twelve males (ages 8-12) with phonological dyslexia were compared to 12 age-matched good readers and 12 reading-matched students. Results showed that dyslexia is not related to incomplete lateralization or to a failure to inhibit verbal processing in the right hemisphere during reading and writing. (Author/JDD)

Notes that high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging allows in vivo quantification of the surface area of the cortex covering the planum temporale. Reviews the definition of planum asymmetry as it relates to structural accompaniments of disorders such as developmental dyslexia and to anatomic and functional lateralization. Finds support for the…

In the neurolinguistic approach to the study of the acquisition of reading and writing, language may be used to express thoughts and intellectual attitudes as well as emotions and emotional attitudes. Experimental studies and clinical data suggest that grammatical rules for spoken language predominantly rely on the left hemisphere of the brain,…

Dyslexia appears to be a meaningless label attached to children with reading problems; the label only leads to confusion rather than clarity. (JH)

Examined with 38 right-handed boys who were either dyslexic or normal readers and matched for age and IQ (mean age both groups=10.6, mean IQ normal readers=106, mean IQ dyslexic readers=105) were the weak, strong, and equal lateralization theories of dyslexia. Cerebral lateralization was measured for linguistic material (digits) using the dichotic…

This review of the literature on laterality research concludes that, despite advances in the classification accuracy of laterality methods, definitive conclusions about hemispheric specialization in individual cases of dyslexic children cannot be drawn. Event-related measurements of cerebral metabolism promise to complement but not replace…

Five theories were tested relating to the suspected connection between organic brain dysfunction and poor reading, or dyslexia. Results failed to support the poor lateralization, right hemisphere, global, imbalance theories. Among juvenile offenders, poor reading appears to relate to left-hemisphere dysfunction. (Author)

Twenty-eight L-dyslexic and 26 P-dyslexic children (mean age of 9-10) received hemisphere-specific stimulation (HSS) by presentation of words to right and left fingers, respectively. Relative to controls, HSS-treated L-dyslexic subjects showed larger improvement of accuracy in text reading, whereas HSS-treated P-dyslexic subjects showed more…

Evaluates a substantially updated version of the "classical" idea of a significant relationship in dyslexic children between cerebral lateralization and their word decoding deficits. Finds further evidence that dyslexia is not related to incomplete lateralization. Suggests that dyslexics suffer from exuberant right hemisphere processing in…

Family histories of 12 hyperlexic (precocious word reading with little comprehension often associated with autism) children (5-10 years old) were investigated. Results suggested familial tendencies to disorders of language, reading, writing, and spelling in male relatives, along with a high incidence of nonright-handedness. (Author/DB)