Rapid Automatized Naming and Explicit Phonological Processing in Children With Developmental Dyslexia: A Study With Portuguese-Speaking Children in Brazil.

peer reviewedMany studies have shown that children with reading difficulties present deficits in rapid automatized naming (RAN) and phonological awareness skills. The aim of this study was to examine RAN and explicit phonological processing in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children with developmental dyslexia and to explore the ability of RAN to discriminate between children with and without dyslexia. Participants were 30 children with a clinical diagnosis of dyslexia established by the Brazilian Dyslexia Association and 30 children with typical development. Children were aged between 7 and 12, and groups were matched for chronological age and sex. They completed a battery of tests that are commonly used in Brazil for diagnosing dyslexia, consisting of the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children (WISC-IV) as well as tests of single word and non-word reading, RAN, and the profile of phonological abilities test. Results indicate that the cognitive profile of this group of children, with a clinical diagnosis of dyslexia, showed preserved skills in the four subscales of the WISC-IV (verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed) and on the profile of phonological abilities test. Groups significantly differed on the reading tests (word and non-word) and RAN measures, with medium to large effect sizes for RAN. Classification and regression tree analysis revealed that RAN was a good predictor for dyslexia diagnosis, with an overall classification accuracy rate of 88.33%

Low weight, socioeconomics and behavioral issues: examining a population in the Northeast of Brazil.

peer reviewed[en] BACKGROUND: Preterm and low weight children at birth are exposed to higher risks and rates of motor, cognitive, behavioral and emotional problems. Being born under low socioeconomic conditions adds even more complexity to these children. This report describes the emotional and behavioral issues of a group of children who were born in low income families and had low weigh at birth in the Northeast region of Brazil. METHOD: A total of 100 children (47 with adequate and 53 with low weigh) were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist for behavioral and emotional problems, as well as with the Autism Behavior Checklist for autism symptoms. RESULTS: Results show no difference between the two groups (low and adequate weight) in terms of behavior problems or autism characteristics, however, it shows elevated clinical prevalence's of behavioral and emotional problems and more vulnerability for autism symptoms when compared to the general population. Data also showed the more years children spent in pre-school, the less internalizing problems they manifested. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the impact of low socioeconomics environment is more prominent in the development of behavioral and emotional problems than low weight at birth, in addition it points to the benefits of pre-school years for the emotional and behavioral adjustment of children from low income and with low weight at birth

Eye Gaze Patterns during Reasoning Provide Insights Regarding Individual Differences in Underlying Cognitive Abilities

Sequences of eye movements during performance of a reasoning task has provided insights into the strategies individuals use to solve that specific task; however, prior studies have not examined whether eye gaze metrics reflect cognitive abilities in a way that transcends a specific task. Thus, our study aimed to explore the relationship between eye movement sequences and other behavioral measures. Here, we present two studies that related different eye gaze metrics in a matrix reasoning task with performance on a different test of fluid reasoning and tests of planning, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Additionally, we related gaze metrics to self-reported executive functioning in daily life, as measured by BRIEF-A. To perform this, we classified the participants' eye gaze in each item of the matrices test using an algorithm and then used LASSO regression models with the cognitive abilities as the dependent variable to select eye-tracking metrics to predict it. Overall, specific and distinct eye gaze metrics predicted 57% variance in the fluid reasoning scores; 17% variance in the planning scores; and 18% variance in the working memory scores. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that the selected eye-tracking metrics reflect cognitive abilities that transcend specific tasks

Can a lexical decision task predict efficiency in the judgment of ambiguous sentences?

Abstract The lexicon plays a fundamental role in reading, but little is known about how it influences reading efficiency. Thus, this study seeks to identify which lexical factors in a lexical decision task are relevant in a semantic decision test. A total of 33 university students were recruited to perform a lexical decision task and a semantic decision task. The results revealed differences between the three types of words in the lexical decision task for all measures, but only in the regressive saccades for the semantic decision task. Ambiguous sentences triggered fewer regressions than sentences related to objects. The only lexical measure found to predict efficiency was average time on regular words, which predicted 24% of the efficiency. We discuss the implications of the use of a lexical decision task and the use of the inverse efficiency score as a semantic measure, and we discuss how the lexicon can predict semantic comprehension

Low weight at birth and unfavorable socioeconomic background: effects on language and fluid intelligence

peer reviewedLow birthweight (<2500 g), associated with low socioeconomic status, has a negative effect on cognition and development. This is especially true for fluid intelligence and language. This study aimed to examine and identify (1) fluid intelligence and language in low- and adequate-birthweight children in a low-income Brazilian neighborhood and (2) the environmental factors that could account for potential group differences. There were 100 children participated in the study, of whom 53 had low birthweight and 47 had adequate birthweight. The children completed a battery of tests for fluid cognition and language. Their socioeconomic background and home environment were explored through a caregiver questionnaire. The results indicated significant group differences in fluid intelligence but not in language. Environmental factors partially explained the results. The variables ‘years of preschool’ and ‘number of learning games/books’ predicted better test results. Furthermore, the children underperformed in naming speed but not in accuracy, and the low-birthweight children also underperformed in fluid intelligence. It is concluded that environmental factors affect both birthweight groups and may compromise child development