G5 Doctoral dissertation (article)
Neural correlates of speech and print processing in children with or without reading or attention deficits in native and foreign languages (2023)
Aivoaktivaatio äidinkielisen ja vieraankielisen puheen ja painetun tekstin prosessointiin sellaisilla lapsilla, joilla on lukemisen tai tarkkaavaisuuden vaikeuksia

Azaiez Zammit Chatti, N. (2023). Neural correlates of speech and print processing in children with or without reading or attention deficits in native and foreign languages [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Jyväskylä. JYU dissertations, 672. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9703-8

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Azaiez Zammit Chatti, Najla

eISBN: 978-951-39-9703-8

Journal or series: JYU dissertations

eISSN: 2489-9003

Publication year: 2023

Number in series: 672

Number of pages in the book: 1 verkkoaineisto (105 sivua, 62 sivua useina numerointijaksoina, 3 numeroimatonta sivua)

Publisher: University of Jyväskylä

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: English

Persistent website address: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9703-8

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Abstract

Reading difficulties (RD) and attentional problems (AP) are the most frequently reported learning disorders in school-aged children. Although extensive research has been conducted on the subject, several questions about the neural processes in these learning difficulties remain to be answered. This dissertation investigates neural correlates of speech processing, visual reading processing, and auditory attentional processing in typical children and in children with reading or attentional difficulties. High-density event-related potentials (ERPs), fixation-related potentials (FRPs), and source reconstruction methods were used. In addition, behavioral measures were used to complement the brain data. In Study I, discriminatory brain processes, the mismatch response (MMR), and the late discriminative negativity (LDN), were investigated in native (Finnish) and foreign (English) language contexts in typical children (CTR, N=86) and in children with RD (N=26). Atypical discriminatory responses with enhanced brain activity to native and foreign speech items were found in the RD group. Furthermore, in both groups, brain responses were different for the native language stimuli than for foreign speech stimuli. Study II investigated speech-perception-related obligatory responses (P1-N250), and early visual response in reading (N170). The results showed associations between brain activity in both modalities and brain activity with reading scores. The brain responses to speech reflected in the source activity of the temporal sources were found to be associated with the brain activity to print in the temporo-occipital areas. Furthermore, the brain activity for speech and print showed correlations with the reading scores. Study III investigated the involuntary attention brain response (P3a) in speech processing investigated, both in typical children and in children with AP (N=17), using native and foreign language stimuli. The results showed a group difference in the P3a response, and significant correlations between the attention score and the brain activity in the native context in both groups. No significant correlations were found in the foreign language context. The neural network of attention was also investigated, using source analysis. Enhanced brain responses were found in the AP group, both at the scalp and source levels. Overall, this dissertation investigated the temporal brain dynamics of different processes and their relationships and showed how they varied between different populations of children with and without learning disorders.

Keywords: children (age groups); learning difficulties; speech production; language disorders; reading disorders; attention; perception (activity); brain; stimuli (role related to effect); ADD; brain research; doctoral dissertations

Free keywords: reading difficulties; attentional problems; speech processing; event-related potentials; fixation-related potentials; source analysis

Contributing organizations

Related projects

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2023