Selective Impairments in Covert Shifts of Attention in Chinese Dyslexic Children.
Reading depends heavily on the efficient shift of attention. Mounting evidence has suggested that dyslexics have deficits in covert attentional shift. However, it remains unclear whether dyslexics also have deficits in overt attentional shift. With the majority of relevant studies carried out in alphabetic writing systems, it is also unknown whether the attentional deficits observed in dyslexics are restricted to a particular writing system. The present study examined inhibition of return (IOR)-a major driving force of attentional shifts-in dyslexic children learning to read a logographic script (i.e., Chinese). Robust IOR effects were observed in both covert and overt attentional tasks in two groups of typically developing children, who were age- or reading ability-matched to the dyslexic children. In contrast, the dyslexic children showed IOR in the overt but not in the covert attentional task. We conclude that covert attentional shift is selectively impaired in dyslexic children. This impairment is not restricted to alphabetic writing systems, and it could be a significant contributor to the difficulties encountered by children learning to read. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.
Yun
Y
Ding
Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China. zhaojing561@126.com.|Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China. zhaojing561@126.com.
Jing
J
Zhao
Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.
Tao
T
He
Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.
Yufei
Y
Tan
Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.
Lingshuang
L
Zheng
Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.|Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Zhiguo
Z
Wang
D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D014956:Writing
Posner cueing task; attention; developmental dyslexia; eye movements; inhibition of return; visual search