Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies of the Pathophysiology of Dyslexia

Guinevere Eden, D. Phil

Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Website

Grant Program:

David Mahoney Neuroimaging Program

Funded in:

June 1996, for 3 years

Funding Amount:

$100,000

Investigator Biographies

Guinevere Eden, D. Phil

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Georgetown University

Hypothesis

Hypothesis:
Researchers posited the existence of a deficit in sensory information processing in dyslexia that is common to multiple sensory modalities, particularly vision and audition.

Goals:
Investigators aimed to answer the following questions: Does the motion processing deficit in dyslexia involve both vision and audition? Is attention used to compensate for visual motion processing deficits in dyslexia? How are the visual and auditory deficits related to language processing deficits in dyslexia?

Methods:
Sensory and language processing in patients with dyslexia and health controls were studied with coordinated behavioral testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Each subject participated in experiments aimed to address the goals of the project. Psychosocial performance was assessed outside the scanner to equate task performance across modalities. Patients completed a number of visual, auditory, and phonological tasks while image data was collected. Control data was compared to that obtained from patients with dyslexia.

Follow-on Funding:
National Institutes of Health (P50)
Georgetown Center for Reading, Learning and Brain Function: $6,973,573
fMRI of Phonological and Sensory Processing in Dyslexia: $1,177,566
fMRI Studies of Remediation in Dyslexia: $2,290,797

Selected Publications

Eden G.F., Joseph J., Brown H., Brown C., Zeffiro T.A. (1999) Measuring Task-Related Changes With fMRI Without Auditory Interference: The Behavioral Interleaved Gradient Technique. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 41:13-20.

Eden G.F., Zeffiro T.A. (1999) Techniques for Functional Neuroimaging: fMRI. In JM Rumsey and M. Ernst (eds.), The Foundation and Future of Functional Neuroimaging in Child Psychiatry, Cambridge University Press.