title: Dyslexics' eye fixations may accommodate to hemispheric desynchronization.
abstract: We argue that the vertical division of the fovea and the hemispheric division of the brain condition reading, and that hemispheric desynchronization is a proximal cause of dyslexia. We predict that dyslexics' fixation behaviour in reading accommodates to problematic hemispheric transfer/coordination, with fixations projecting more letter-information directly to the left hemisphere to facilitate processing. We analysed eye movements of 24 dyslexics and 24 normal readers. Dyslexics fixated closer to word beginning than did normal readers, projecting more of the word directly to the left hemisphere. Both groups produced comparable fixation durations at the beginning of the word; further into the word the dyslexics produced longer fixation durations. The results support a model of dyslexia based on hemispheric desynchronization.
authors.affiliation: School of Philosophy, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: M Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Manon W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Shillcock
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading