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ABSTRACT: To evaluate the consequences of proprioception changes induced by a postural treatment on cognitive disturbances in children suffering from developmental dyslexia.
and methods: Twenty male dyslexic children were treated with prisms within their spectacles and a postural treatment. A control group of dyslexics (n=13) only received spectacles without prisms. All participants were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 6 months later with reading impairment tests and postural examinations.
Mean age was 11 years and 5 months in the treated group and 11 years and 7 months in the control group. Four children were excluded from the 6-month analysis because of poor compliance. All dyslexic children presented with a postural deficiency syndrome. In 13 out of 16 treated children, dyslexia was improved at 6 months, especially for the global leximetric test and the reading of regular and irregular words. However, the treatment did not allow a complete recovery of reading ability when compared with age-matched individuals.
Our results show that postural modifications may favorably influence some clinical signs associated with developmental dyslexia. Further studies with a larger sample and with a longer follow-up period are required to better assess the role of postural treatment in developmental dyslexia.
Journal francais d'ophtalmologie 05/2007; 30(4):380-9. · 0.51 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The objective of this study is to assess proprioception anomalies in postural deficiency syndrome in a group of children suffering from reading impairment.
Sixty male patients with an average age of 11 years and 9 months were included in the study. Initially, they were given a standardized neuropsychological examination, which confirmed the diagnosis of reading impairment. Then after filling out a questionnaire seeking a proprioceptive anomaly, the patients were subjected to a clinical ocular and postural examination consisting of nine precisely described steps.
All of the patients recruited for the study presented clinical signs confirming a proprioception disorder found as a part of postural deficiency syndrome.
This study opens a new direction for research concerning the origin and treatment of at least some reading-impaired children.
Journal francais d'ophtalmologie 10/2005; 28(7):713-23. · 0.51 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Affecting up to 4-10% of the population, dyslexia is a highly prevalent, childhood onset developmental disorder adversely influencing multiple domains of adaptive functioning throughout the lifespan. The present brain imaging study was conducted in order to investigate the neuroanatomical correlates of developmental dyslexia. The MRI brain scans of 10 males with dyslexia and 14 matched controls were analyzed with (1) a classical volumetric method measuring gray and white matter lobar volumes and (2) a voxel-by-voxel method. The voxel-by-voxel method identifies changes in tissue density and localizes morphologic alterations without limiting the analyses to predefined regions. Subsequent correlations between gray matter density and neuropsychological performance on specific phonological processing tasks (rhyme judgment) were conducted. Volumetric analyses revealed significantly reduced gray matter volumes in both temporal lobes in dyslexic individuals. The voxel-by-voxel analyses further localized changes to the left temporal lobe, revealing reduced gray matter density in the middle and inferior temporal gyri. Conversely, increased gray matter density was found in the precentral gyri bilaterally. As a combined group, the dyslexic and control subjects demonstrated positive correlations between performance on the rhyme judgment tasks and gray matter density in the middle and inferior frontal gyri, and the middle temporal gyri bilaterally. The current study indicates that dyslexia is associated with a structural gray matter deficit involving a complex fronto-temporal network implicated in phonological processing.
Neuropsychologia 02/2005; 43(3):324-31. · 3.64 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Using a new method based upon the measurement of four angles, we analyzed the corpus callosum of 23 adult male dyslexics and 25 age-matched controls on MRI sagittal scans. Two out of the four angles measured showed significant differences between the groups that are consistent with previous findings concerning the size of the corpus callosum in dyslexics. In particular, posterior regions are concerned, displaying a lowered corpus callosum in dyslexics. These findings are discussed in relation to cortical parietal asymmetries and possible hormonal events, referring to the testosterone hypothesis, that could occur in utero or in the perinatal period in the dyslexic population.
European Neurology 02/2000; 43(4):233-7. · 1.81 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Using brain magnetic resonance imaging, we measured in 16 young developmental dyslexic adults and 14 age-matched controls cortical asymmetries of posterior language-related areas, including Planum temporale and parietal operculum cortical ribbon, and of the inferior frontal region related in the left hemisphere to speech processing. In addition, we assessed the sulcal morphology of the inferior frontal gyrus in both groups according to a qualitative method. The dyslexic subjects also performed specific tasks exploring different aspects of phonological and lexical-semantic processes. Results showed that: (1) contrary to most results reported in the literature, there is a lack of any morphological difference relative to Planum temporale asymmetry between the two groups; (2) there are significant differences between dyslexic and control subjects relative to frontal areas; (3) concerning the parietal region, there is a more asymmetrical pattern towards the left side in dyslexic subjects than in controls; and (4) relations in dyslexic subjects between parietal asymmetry coefficient and the level of performance in a phonological task have a particular reliance on verbal short-term memory, frontal asymmetry and performance in a non-word reading task. Considering these results it is suggested that phonological segmentation skills may relate to frontal lobe morphology, while phonological memory-based impairment in people with dyslexia may rather relate to parietal lobe morphology.
European Journal of Neurology 02/2000; 7(1):35-46. · 3.69 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The classical notion that developmental dyslexia may somehow relate to impaired communication between hemispheres has not yet received convincing support. Sixteen dyslexic adults and 12 controls received a high resolution brain MRI scan for morphometric study of the corpus callosum. Automatized measurements of callosal area and calculation of indices defining the general morphology of the callosal mid-surface were performed. Each participant received global intelligence and reading achievement evaluation; dyslexics were further proposed specific neuropsychological tests specially designed to explore the mechanisms of reading impairment. It just appears from the group comparisons (1) that the dyslexics' corpus callosum displays a more circular and evenly thicker general shape, and (2) that the midsagittal surface is on the average larger than in controls, in particular in the isthmus. Moreover, the different morphometric characteristics of the dyslexic brain correlated with the degree of impairment on various tests exploring phonological abilities. In vivo morphometry of the corpus callosum may provide valuable hints for understanding developmental learning disorders and their consequences in adults.
Brain and Language 04/1998; 62(1):127-46. · 3.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The general theory on the biological foundations of cerebral dominance formulated in 1985 by Geschwind and Galaburda entirely relies on a postulated causal relationship between anatomical asymmetry of the planum temporale and functional lateralization of the human brain, but does not take into account asymmetry of another cortical region, the parietal operculum. In 40 normal volunteers whose handedness was specified by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, we assessed asymmetries of these two regions on MRI sagittal scans. For both measurements, a significantly larger leftward asymmetry was found in the 24 consistent right-handers compared to the 16 non-right-handers. Moreover, the combination, for each subject, of the two indices of asymmetry, yielded four different subtypes between which handedness distribution significantly differed. We conclude that planum temporale and parietal operculum asymmetries may be divergent and that their convergence is strongly associated with right-handedness. Functional and developmental implications of these findings are discussed by reference to the Geschwind/Galaburda theory.
Brain and Language 03/1995; 48(2):238-58. · 3.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: But de l’étudeL’objectif de ce travail est d’évaluer l’impact des modifications proprioceptives induites par un traitement postural sur les troubles cognitifs d’une population d’enfants souffrant de dyslexie de développement.Patients et méthodesIl a été constitué un groupe de 20 enfants dyslexiques traités par prismes posturaux, semelles « de posture » et rééducation posturale, et un groupe témoin de 13 enfants dyslexiques portant uniquement des lunettes sans prismes. Tous les enfants étaient de sexe masculin. Lors de leur inclusion dans l’étude (M0) et 6 mois plus tard (M6), tous les participants ont été évalués par un bilan ophtalmologique et postural et ont reçu un examen neuropsychologique concernant les processus visuo-lexicaux par un examinateur en insu ainsi que les processus phonologiques et métaphonologiques.RésultatsL’âge moyen des enfants du « groupe traité » était de 11 ans et 5 mois et celui des enfants du « groupe non traité » de 11 ans et 7 mois. Quatre enfants du « groupe traité » ont été exclus à M6 pour non-observance du traitement. Tous les patients dyslexiques présentaient un syndrome de déficience posturale lors de l’inclusion. Chez les sujets traités, le traitement a été bénéfique pour les signes fonctionnels et la plupart des signes physiques par rapport au « groupe non traité ». Chez 13 des 16 enfants traités, il a amélioré de manière significative certains paramètres de la dyslexie, notamment le test de leximétrie globale, la lecture des mots réguliers et irréguliers, et les épreuves de décision orthographique et de complétion graphémique. Les épreuves concernant les processus phonologiques et celles concernant la manipulation mentale des sons du langage (conscience phonologique) n’ont pas été significativement améliorées.ConclusionLes résultats de cette étude ouvrent une nouvelle voie de recherche en montrant qu’une modification de la proprioception peut être bénéfique sur certains éléments cliniques rencontrés dans la dyslexie de développement. Le niveau d’action du traitement postural sur les signes de dyslexie qui se sont améliorés reste à préciser. Cette étude préliminaire doit être complétée par un essai thérapeutique sur un plus grand nombre de patients et pendant une plus longue durée.PurposeTo evaluate the consequences of proprioception changes induced by a postural treatment on cognitive disturbances in children suffering from developmental dyslexia.Material and methodsTwenty male dyslexic children were treated with prisms within their spectacles and a postural treatment. A control group of dyslexics (n=13) only received spectacles without prisms. All participants were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 6 months later with reading impairment tests and postural examinations.ResultsMean age was 11 years and 5 months in the treated group and 11 years and 7 months in the control group. Four children were excluded from the 6-month analysis because of poor compliance. All dyslexic children presented with a postural deficiency syndrome. In 13 out of 16 treated children, dyslexia was improved at 6 months, especially for the global leximetric test and the reading of regular and irregular words. However, the treatment did not allow a complete recovery of reading ability when compared with age-matched individuals.Conclusion
Our results show that postural modifications may favorably influence some clinical signs associated with developmental dyslexia. Further studies with a larger sample and with a longer follow-up period are required to better assess the role of postural treatment in developmental dyslexia.
Journal francais d'ophtalmologie 30(4):380-389. · 0.51 Impact Factor
