title: Rapid automatized naming (RAN) taps a mechanism that places constraints on the development of early reading fluency.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that rapid automatized naming (RAN) is a correlate of early reading skills; however, the interpretation of this finding remains controversial. We present the results from a 3-year longitudinal study. RAN, measured with nonalphabetic stimuli before reading instruction has begun, is a predictor of later growth in reading fluency. After reading instruction has started, RAN continues to exert an influence on the development of reading fluency over the next 2 years. However, there is no evidence of a reciprocal influence of reading fluency on the growth of RAN skill. We suggest that RAN taps the integrity of left-hemisphere object-recognition and naming circuits that are recruited to function as a critical component of the child's developing visual word-recognition system.
authors.affiliation: University of Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lervåg
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hulme
mesh_terms: D001076:Aptitude; D001332:Automatism / Q000523:psychology*; D001364:Awareness; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010700:Phonetics; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D012660:Semantics; D012691:Serial Learning; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014888:Wechsler Scales