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Dyslexia: deficient visual movement detection in at risk infants

P. H. Been , D. van den Brink , T. van Leeuwen , M. Dhar and F. Zwarts

(1) University of Groningen (2) University of Nijmegen (3) University of Amsterdam, Netherlands pieter@radix.let.rug.nl

Abstract

Adult dyslexics show signs of deficient visual movement detection when compared with controls. Although the predominant hypothesis ascribes developmental dyslexia to a phonological deficit it was shown in a number of studies in the last decade that a phonological deficit often goes with disturbances in visual movement detection. This observation is in line with a general magnocellular deficit causing problems in the detection of transients in stimuli independent of perceptual modality. In a prospective study aimed at the detection of early biological precursors of developmental dyslexia visual movement detection was assessed with evoked potentials in 2 and 5 months old infants with familial risk for dyslexia and controls. At the age of 2 months there is a difference in movement detection between at risks and controls. The difference is incremented at the age of 5 months. We conclude that the early development of visual movement detection is a potential precursor of dyslexia with predictive value.

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