Reading words - BL2 Flashcards
What language abilities have we not evolutionarily developed?
reading and writing
What brain damage can lead to people no longer being able to read?
lots of regions - so lots of regions must be involved in reading processes
What is visual word form?
the abstract level of word representation that is stored in your brain and allows for quick word recognition
What 3 forms are words stored as in the brain?
meaning, word form, phonological form
What kind of process is reading for adults?
global (look at whole word rather than the sounds within it)
What is an example of reading being a global process?
you can read words even then they have the letters in the middle of them jumbled up lkie tihs
What is categorical perception in terms of speech perception?
using the general features to recognise words, not just one specific sound for each - so you can understand different accents
What is grapheme to phoneme conversion and when do we use it? (2)
- you know how each letter maps to a sound
- used when pronouncing non-words or when learning new words from reading
What does the triangle model of reading posit?
three main centres or nodes for orthographic, phonological and semantic word representations
What is special about the nodes in the triangle theory?
they are interconnected so can be simultaneously activated in a single task
What nodes are used in the triangle theory when reading out non-words?
map orthographic to phonology
Where is the visual word form area?
in the fusiform (occipitotemporal) gyrus
What does the visual word form area respond to? (4)
- words more than false-fonts or consonant strings
- upper and lower case equally
- real words more than non-words sounding the same
- orthographic identity of the word (recognising something as a word you know)
What does the similar area to the visual word form area but in the right hemisphere do?
facial recognition
how does the visual word form area respond to left and right visual field presentation? (2)
- responds equally
- but the response is stronger in the left hemisphere
What happens when you present written sentences to literates, ex-illiterates and illiterates ? (2)
- more visual word form area (left) activation for literates and more words read per minute
- ex-illiterate had more activation than illiterate (not as much as literate though)
What happens when you present faces or other objects to literates, ex-illiterates and illiterates ? (2)
illiterate people have more response in the visual word form area than the others
ex middle, lit least
What happens when you present letter strings to literates, ex-illiterates and illiterates ? (2)
literates have most visual word form activation (they try to work out the meaning)
ex middle, ill least
What do skilled readers also activate the visual word form area for? (3)
letter strings, auditory words, object naming
What do blind people activate the visual word form area for?
reading braille
On which route is the visual word form area located?
the ventral route
What route will sounding out non-words activate?
the dorsal route (to sound out the word)
What route will reading words silently activate? (2)
- whole ventral route to get meaning
- maybe some dorsal activation but only to get the word sound
What route will be activated when reading out loud?
dorsal and ventral (the whole route) - to get meaning and pronounce
What is developmental dyslexia?
difficulty in learning to read (below standard appropriate to age)
What impairment is present in developmental dyslexia?
phonological (mapping letters to sounds)
What are some deficits in developmental dyslexia? (5)
non-word repetition, naming pictures, phonological working memory, rhyming
What connection has in issue in developmental dyslexia?
orthography and phonology connection
How does the brain differ in dyslexic children compared to typical brains? (3)
- deactivation in reading network, particularly phonological route
- overactivation in left inferior frontal gyrus (broca)
- differential grey and white matter volume
Why might some dyslexics be able to reach good levels of reading?
the right hemisphere compensates and takes over some of the function (more activation is found in their right Broca’s area)
How does acquired phonological dyslexia happen?
stroke
What are the effects of acquired phonological dyslexia?
fine visual lexicon and comprehension but can’t pronounce unfamiliar words
What is impaired in acquired phonological dyslexia?
- short term memory for speech sounds and manipulation of sounds
- grapheme to phoneme conversion in reading and writing
Where is the damage likely to be in acquired phonological dyslexia?
the passage from visual word form to representation of the sounds
