![\"Researchers](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2016\/12\/21\/22\/3B911DEB00000578-4056770-Researchers_have_pinpointed_a_distinctive_neural_signature_that_-m-2_1482360945775.jpg\")
<\/p>\nResearchers have pinpointed a distinctive neural signature that could explain why people with dyslexia struggle to learn how to read.<\/p>\n
MIT neuroscientists found that the brains of people with dyslexia have a diminished ability to acclimate to a repeated input, like seeing the same word a number of times.<\/p>\n
The findings suggest the brain\u2019s plasticity, which supports the ability to learn new things, is reduced in these cases.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Researchers have pinpointed a distinctive neural signature that could explain why people with dyslexia struggle to learn how to read. MIT neuroscientists found that the brains of people with dyslexia have a diminished ability to acclimate to a repeated input<\/p>\n
In one experiment, the subjects listened to a series of words read by either four different speakers, or a single speaker.<\/p>\n
Scans revealed there were distinctive patterns of activity in each group.<\/p>\n
For non-dyslexic listeners, the researchers noted that areas in the brain that are involved in language showed neural adaptation after hearing words spoken by a single speaker, but not when they were heard from different speakers.<\/p>\n
In dyslexic subjects, they found there was much less adaptation to hearing the words said by a single speaker.<\/p>\n
Subjects were also asked to look at a series of the same word or different words, pictures of the same object tor different objects, and pictures of the same face or different faces.<\/p>\n
Across the board, the researchers found that people with dyslexia did not show neural adaptation when the same stimuli were repeated, be it words, objects, or faces.<\/p>\n
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Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers scanned the brains of young adults both with and without reading difficulties while they performed a variety of tasks.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s a difference in the brain that\u2019s not about reading, per se, but it\u2019s a difference in perceptual learning that\u2019s pretty broad,\u2019 says senior author John Gabrieli, the Grover M. Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences, and a member of MIT\u2019s McGovern Institute for Brain Research.<\/p>\n
\u2018This is a path by which a brain difference could influence learning to read, which involves so many demands on plasticity.\u2019<\/p>\n
In one experiment, the subjects listened to a series of words read by either four different speakers, or a single speaker.<\/p>\n
Scans revealed there were distinctive patterns of activity in each group.<\/p>\n
For non-dyslexic listeners, the researchers noted that areas in the brain that are involved in language showed neural adaptation after hearing words spoken by a single speaker, but not when they were heard from different speakers.<\/p>\n
In dyslexic subjects, they found there was much less adaptation to hearing the words said by a single speaker.<\/p>\n
According to the researcher, neurons that respond to a particular sensory input typically have a stronger reaction at first, but then become muted as the input continues.<\/p>\n
This reflects the chemical changes in neurons that make it easier for them to respond to a familiar stimulus.<\/p>\n
Known as plasticity, this phenomenon is a critical component in the ability to learn new skills.<\/p>\n
\u2018You learn something upon the initial presentation that makes you better able to do it the second time, and the ease is marked by reduced neural activity,\u2019 said Gabrieli.<\/p>\n \u2018Because you\u2019ve done something before, it\u2019s easier to do it again.\u2019<\/p>\n Following the first experiment, the team then ran a series of other tests to see how broad the effect is.<\/p>\n Subjects were asked to look at a series of the same word or different words, pictures of the same object tor different objects, and pictures of the same face or different faces.<\/p>\n Across the board, the researchers found that people with dyslexia did not show neural adaptation when the same stimuli were repeated, be it words, objects, or faces.<\/p>\n \u2018The brain location changed depending on the nature of the content that was being perceived, but the reduced adaptation was consistent across very different domains,\u2019 Gabrieli says.<\/p>\n For non-dyslexic listeners, the showed neural adaptation after hearing words spoken by a single speaker, but not when they were heard from different speakers. In dyslexic subjects, they found there was much less adaptation to hearing the words said by a single speaker<\/p>\n While the effect was seen even in numerous tasks, the researcher says this impairment may be so pronounced in reading as it is such a demanding cognitive task.<\/p>\n \u2018There are probably few tasks people undertake that require as much plasticity as reading,\u2019 Gabrieli says.<\/p>\n The researchers also tested the effect in first and second graders with and without reading difficulties, and found the same distinction.<\/p>\n Moving forward, they will examine this phenomenon in younger children as well, to see if it appears even before they begin to learn to read.<\/p>\n Other types of measurements, such as magnetoencephalography (MEG), may reveal more about this effect.<\/p>\n \u2018We got almost the identical reduction in plasticity, which suggests that this is occurring quite early in learning to read,\u2019 Gabrieli.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s not a consequence of a different learning experience over the years in struggling to read.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Researchers have pinpointed a distinctive neural signature that could explain why people with dyslexia struggle to learn how to read. MIT neuroscientists found that the brains of people with dyslexia have a diminished ability to acclimate to a repeated input, like seeing the same word a number of times. The findings suggest the brain\u2019s plasticity, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2016\/12\/21\/15\/3B8FCF6E00000578-0-image-m-78_1482333166314.jpg\")
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