Identification of neurobiological causes and neuro-cognitive profiles in children with isolated reading deficits and isolated spelling deficits

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Dyslexia is one of the most common developmental disorders. During the past decades numerous investigations focusing on the cognitive and neurobiological factors underlying reading and spelling deficits have improved our understanding of literacy difficulties. The majority of these studies were based on the assumption that deficits in reading and deficits in spelling comprise one and the same disorder. However, recent research based on large representative samples provides evidence that deficits in reading (fluency) can occur in the absence of spelling problems and vice versa, constituting a double-dissociation. Furthermore, there is evidence that reading and spelling deficits may be associated with differential cognitive profiles and may have different aetiologies. Based on detailed analyses of word recognition processes, this research project aims to further specify the dissociations between reading and spelling deficits. Different methods, including eye-tracking, ERP, and fMRI will be used to investigate the cognitive and neurobiological correlates involved in word recognition that can explain the conditions under which deficits in reading and deficits in spelling occur in isolation. This approach will help to further specify theoretical models of written language processing development. The results of the project are equally relevant for intervention as findings can provide the basis for training programmes that are specifically tailored towards individual problems.