| Introduction | | | | short term memory is in completing tasks. The |
| I have chosen five areas of research that go | | | | participants were exposed to a repeating set of |
| someway to explaining dyslexia causes by | | | | stimuli and their reactions were noted. The group |
| highlighting the different ways in which the | | | | of people who did not suffer from dyslexia were |
| dyslexic brain and the non dyslexic brain (to use | | | | better at remembering the stimuli and then |
| crude and oversimplified expressions) react and | | | | responding to it. People with dyslexia were not so |
| operate. These are only areas of research and | | | | good at remembering the different stimuli and |
| although each project has produced some | | | | therefore their reactions were poorer. |
| interesting findings, because they only used very | | | | 4. The Cerebral and the Cerebella Regions of the |
| small numbers of people in each trial, their findings | | | | Brain |
| should not be treated as stone- cold fact. After | | | | In a study that was carried out in Belgium, brain |
| all, research into dyslexia is a constantly evolving | | | | activity was studied. A group of children all of the |
| and changing process. | | | | same age were selected. The group contained |
| 1. Reading Skills Require Many Parts of the Brain | | | | dyslexics and non dyslexics. MRI scans were |
| Most human "actions" such as hearing, vision or | | | | taken of their brains as it was involved in a |
| spoken language engage only one part of the | | | | reading ask. Whereas the brains of the children |
| brain. Reading it seems, engages multiple areas of | | | | who did not have dyslexia were active in specific |
| the brain. This makes reading a more complex | | | | areas of the cerebral region of the brain, the |
| skill- it will be more prone to complexities and | | | | brains of the children with dyslexia were active in |
| potential breakdowns, as can be seen in dyslexia. | | | | both the cerebral and cerebella regions of the |
| 2. Fatty Acids Can Improve Reading Skills | | | | brain. |
| Swedish children with dyslexia had their decoding | | | | 5. More Brain Power Needed! |
| (ability to read but not necessarily understand | | | | A study at the University of Washington explored |
| words) skills measured before and after they | | | | brain activity in a group of boys that was split |
| completed a course of fish oil supplements. The | | | | between dyslexia sufferers and non dyslexia |
| supplements were taken for a period of a few | | | | sufferers. During a simple reading tasks the levels |
| months. Over 90% of the children involved saw | | | | of chemicals in all of their brains was measured. |
| their decoding skills considerably increase. This | | | | These chemicals indicate how active the brain |
| would suggest that sustained use of fish oils | | | | was during the task. Not only did the boys with |
| improves the way that the brain processes. | | | | dyslexia use nearly five times as much space in |
| 3. A Problem With Short Term Memory | | | | their brains to complete the task but those areas |
| In Israel, an experiment was carried out on two | | | | were also much more active than the brains of |
| groups of people- those with dyslexia and those | | | | their non dyslexic counterparts. |
| without dyslexia. The focus was in how efficient | | | | |