title: Reduced sensitivity to slow-rate dynamic auditory information in children with dyslexia.
abstract: The etiology of developmental dyslexia remains widely debated. An appealing theory postulates that the reading and spelling problems in individuals with dyslexia originate from reduced sensitivity to slow-rate dynamic auditory cues. This low-level auditory deficit is thought to provoke a cascade of effects, including inaccurate speech perception and eventually unspecified phoneme representations. The present study investigated sensitivity to frequency modulation and amplitude rise time, speech-in-noise perception and phonological awareness in 11-year-old children with dyslexia and a matched normal-reading control children. Group comparisons demonstrated that children with dyslexia were less sensitive than normal-reading children to slow-rate dynamic auditory processing, speech-in-noise perception, phonological awareness and literacy abilities. Correlations were found between slow-rate dynamic auditory processing and phonological awareness, and speech-in-noise perception and reading. Yet, no significant correlation between slow-rate dynamic auditory processing and speech-in-noise perception was obtained. Together, these results indicate that children with dyslexia have difficulties with slow-rate dynamic auditory processing and speech-in-noise perception and that these problems persist until sixth grade.
authors.affiliation: ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49 PO Box 721, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Hanne.Poelmans@med.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Poelmans
authors.forename: Heleen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luts
authors.forename: Maaike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vandermosten
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boets
authors.forename: Pol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghesquière
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wouters
mesh_terms: D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise; D010700:Phonetics; D011932:Reading; D012307:Risk Factors; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*