Dataset Information

Reading faces: investigating the use of a novel face-based orthography in acquired alexia.

ABSTRACT: Skilled visual word recognition is thought to rely upon a particular region within the left fusiform gyrus, the visual word form area (VWFA). We investigated whether an individual (AA1) with pure alexia resulting from acquired damage to the VWFA territory could learn an alphabetic "FaceFont" orthography, in which faces rather than typical letter-like units are used to represent phonemes. FaceFont was designed to distinguish between perceptual versus phonological influences on the VWFA. AA1 was unable to learn more than five face-phoneme mappings, performing well below that of controls. AA1 succeeded, however, in learning and using a proto-syllabary comprising 15 face-syllable mappings. These results suggest that the VWFA provides a "linguistic bridge" into left hemisphere speech and language regions, irrespective of the perceptual characteristics of a written language. They also suggest that some individuals may be able to acquire a non-alphabetic writing system more readily than an alphabetic writing system.

SUBMITTER: Moore MW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4058438 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reading faces: investigating the use of a novel face-based orthography in acquired alexia.

Moore Michelle W MW Brendel Paul C PC Fiez Julie A JA

Brain and language 20140124

Skilled visual word recognition is thought to rely upon a particular region within the left fusiform gyrus, the visual word form area (VWFA). We investigated whether an individual (AA1) with pure alexia resulting from acquired damage to the VWFA territory could learn an alphabetic "FaceFont" orthography, in which faces rather than typical letter-like units are used to represent phonemes. FaceFont was designed to distinguish between perceptual versus phonological influences on the VWFA. AA1 was u ...[more]

PMID: 24463310

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Project description:Reading is a unique human cognitive skill and its acquisition was proven to extensively affect both brain organization and neuroanatomy. Differently from western sighted individuals, literacy rates via tactile reading systems, such as Braille, are declining, thus imposing an alarming threat to literacy among non-visual readers. This decline is due to many reasons including the length of training needed to master Braille, which must also include extensive tactile sensitivity exercises, the lack of proper Braille instruction and the high costs of Braille devices. The far-reaching consequences of low literacy rates, raise the need to develop alternative, cheap and easy-to-master non-visual reading systems. To this aim, we developed OVAL, a new auditory orthography based on a visual-to-auditory sensory-substitution algorithm. Here we present its efficacy for successful words-reading, and investigation of the extent to which redundant features defining characters (i.e., adding specific colors to letters conveyed into audition via different musical instruments) facilitate or impede auditory reading outcomes. Thus, we tested two groups of blindfolded sighted participants who were either exposed to a monochromatic or to a color version of OVAL. First, we showed that even before training, all participants were able to discriminate between 11 OVAL characters significantly more than chance level. Following 6 hours of specific OVAL training, participants were able to identify all the learned characters, differentiate them from untrained letters, and read short words/pseudo-words of up to 5 characters. The Color group outperformed the Monochromatic group in all tasks, suggesting that redundant characters' features are beneficial for auditory reading. Overall, these results suggest that OVAL is a promising auditory-reading tool that can be used by blind individuals, by people with reading deficits as well as for the investigation of reading specific processing dissociated from the visual modality.

Project description:Central alexia (CA) is an acquired reading disorder co-occurring with a generalized language deficit (aphasia). The roles of perilesional and ipsilesional tissue in recovery from poststroke aphasia are unclear. We investigated the impact of reading training (using iReadMore, a therapy app) on the connections within and between the right and left hemisphere of the reading network of patients with CA. In patients with pure alexia, iReadMore increased feedback from left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) region to the left occipital (OCC) region. We aimed to identify whether iReadMore therapy was effective through a similar mechanism in patients with CA. Participants with chronic poststroke CA (n = 23) completed 35 h of iReadMore training over 4 weeks. Reading accuracy for trained and untrained words was assessed before and after therapy. The neural response to reading trained and untrained words in the left and right OCC, ventral occipitotemporal, and IFG regions was examined using event-related magnetoencephalography. The training-related modulation in effective connectivity between regions was modeled at the group level with dynamic causal modeling. iReadMore training improved participants' reading accuracy by an average of 8.4% (range, -2.77 to 31.66) while accuracy for untrained words was stable. Training increased regional sensitivity in bilateral frontal and occipital regions, and strengthened feedforward connections within the left hemisphere. Our data suggest that iReadMore training in these patients modulates lower-order visual representations, as opposed to higher-order, more abstract representations, to improve word-reading accuracy.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This is the first study to conduct a network-level analysis of therapy effects in participants with poststroke central alexia. When patients trained with iReadMore (a multimodal, behavioral, mass practice, computer-based therapy), reading accuracy improved by an average 8.4% on trained items. A network analysis of the magnetoencephalography data associated with this improvement revealed an increase in regional sensitivity in bilateral frontal and occipital regions and strengthening of feedforward connections within the left hemisphere. This indicates that in patients with CA iReadMore engages lower-order, intact resources within the left hemisphere (posterior to their lesion locations) to improve word reading. This provides a foundation for future research to investigate reading network modulation in different CA subtypes, or for sentence-level therapy.

Project description:Central alexia is an acquired reading disorder co-occurring with a generalized language deficit (aphasia). We tested the impact of a novel training app, 'iReadMore', and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the left inferior frontal gyrus, on word reading ability in central alexia. The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02062619). Twenty-one chronic stroke patients with central alexia participated. A baseline-controlled, repeated-measures, crossover design was used. Participants completed two 4-week blocks of iReadMore training, one with anodal stimulation and one with sham stimulation (order counterbalanced between participants). Each block comprised 34 h of iReadMore training and 11 stimulation sessions. Outcome measures were assessed before, between and after the two blocks. The primary outcome measures were reading ability for trained and untrained words. Secondary outcome measures included semantic word matching, sentence reading, text reading and a self-report measure. iReadMore training resulted in an 8.7% improvement in reading accuracy for trained words (95% confidence interval 6.0 to 11.4; Cohen's d = 1.38) but did not generalize to untrained words. Reaction times also improved. Reading accuracy gains were still significant (but reduced) 3 months after training cessation. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (compared to sham), delivered concurrently with iReadMore, resulted in a 2.6% (95% confidence interval -0.1 to 5.3; d = 0.41) facilitation for reading accuracy, both for trained and untrained words. iReadMore also improved performance on the semantic word-matching test. There was a non-significant trend towards improved self-reported reading ability. However, no significant changes were seen at the sentence or text reading level. In summary, iReadMore training in post-stroke central alexia improved reading ability for trained words, with good maintenance of the therapy effect. Anodal stimulation resulted in a small facilitation (d = 0.41) of learning and also generalized to untrained items.10.1093/brain/awy138_video1awy138media15796149281001.

Project description:Recently, many studies have indicated that humans make social evaluations from facial appearances instantaneously and automatically. Furthermore, such judgments play an important role in several social contexts. However, the mechanisms involved in the ability to form impressions from faces are still unknown, as is the extent to which these can be regarded as universal in perceiving impressions. In the current study, computer-generated Caucasian faces were used to assess the universality or cultural differences in impression formation among Japanese children and adults. This study hypothesized that impressions of trustworthiness and dominance may be more fundamental and universal, whereas the impression of competence may be more complex and culture-dependent. In Experiment 1a, 42 children aged 3–6 years were presented with 10 pairs of face images and asked which image in each pair was more trustworthy, dominant, or competent. Overall, it was found that as age increased, the rate of agreement of Japanese participants with the judgment of American participants, obtained in a previous study, increased. However, the agreement rate for competence was relatively low. Experiment 1b, conducted with 46 children, was a replication of Experiment 1a, and the results showed the same tendency. In Experiment 2, 45 Japanese adults made impression judgments on 19 pairs of face images identical to those used in Experiment 1b. The results suggested that while dominance was a dimension not easily influenced by developmental changes or culture, trustworthiness could be influenced by cultural differences in facial expression recognition. Therefore, different judgment criteria are used for children and adults. For competence, the agreement rate with Americans was relatively stable and low among the different age groups. This suggests that depending on the dimension of the trait, certain judgments are influenced by cultural context and, therefore, change criteria, while others are based on more universal criteria.

Dataset Information

Reading faces: investigating the use of a novel face-based orthography in acquired alexia.

Publications

Reading faces: investigating the use of a novel face-based orthography in acquired alexia.

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