title: Rhythm perception and production predict reading abilities in developmental dyslexia.
abstract: Rhythm organizes events in time and plays a major role in music, but also in the phonology and prosody of a language. Interestingly, children with developmental dyslexia-a learning disability that affects reading acquisition despite normal intelligence and adequate education-have a poor rhythmic perception. It has been suggested that an accurate perception of rhythmical/metrical structure, that requires accurate perception of rise time, may be critical for phonological development and subsequent literacy. This hypothesis is mostly based on results showing a high degree of correlation between phonological awareness and metrical skills, using a very specific metrical task. We present new findings from the analysis of a sample of 48 children with a diagnosis of dyslexia, without comorbidities. These children were assessed with neuropsychological tests, as well as specifically-devised psychoacoustic and musical tasks mostly testing temporal abilities. Associations were tested by multivariate analyses including data mining strategies, correlations and most importantly logistic regressions to understand to what extent the different auditory and musical skills can be a robust predictor of reading and phonological skills. Results show a strong link between several temporal skills and phonological and reading abilities. These findings are discussed in the framework of the neuroscience literature comparing music and language processing, with a particular interest in the links between rhythm processing in music and language.
authors.affiliation: Child Neurology and Psychiatry Ward, Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute Trieste, Italy ; Center for the Child Health - Onlus Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flaugnacco
authors.affiliation: Developmental Neuropsychiatry Ward, Villaggio Eugenio Litta Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Developmental Neuropsychiatry Ward, Villaggio Eugenio Litta Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Terribili
authors.affiliation: Child Neurology and Psychiatry Ward, Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zoia
authors.affiliation: Developmental Neuropsychiatry Ward, Villaggio Eugenio Litta Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buda
authors.affiliation: Developmental Neuropsychiatry Ward, Villaggio Eugenio Litta Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tilli
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Monasta
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montico
authors.affiliation: Center for the Child Health - Onlus Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sila
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS Burlo Garofolo Pediatric Institute Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ronfani
authors.affiliation: Institut de Neurosciences des Systémes, Aix-Marseille Université Marseille, France ; INSERM, U1106 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schön
keywords: dyslexia; music; phonological awareness; rhythm; temporal processing