NEURODEVELOPMENTAL BASES OF LEARNING DIABILITIES

尽管有大量关于学习障碍的研究文献 (LD)专家们对大多数问题的答案无法达成一致 父母和老师经常问，孩子是否有学习能力， 残疾，如果是，问题是什么，可以做些什么。 拟议中心的一个基本前提是LD是一种疾病， 神经发育，而不是特定技能获得障碍。问题 研究计划要解决的问题是： 特征可以可靠地区分LD儿童和非LD儿童 以及这些孩子有什么不同的特点。的 有待检验的中心假设是， 学习障碍儿童的信息尤其混乱。 我们将通过以下方式来评估低级信息处理的各个方面： 听觉、视觉和运动行为的协调研究手段 范例，定量EEG和功能MRI，以阐明 中枢神经系统功能的基本“积木”， 与LD有关。 这些问题将与高等教育有关。 认知、学业成绩和社会适应的顺序特征 临床上最受关注的疾病 该中心包括三个核心（行政，神经行为， 评估，人类受试者和数据管理/生物统计学）和5 项目，所有研究都集中在一个LD儿童队列中， 解决了不同层次的神经行为分析。研究样本 将包括8至11岁的LD儿童（N = 200）， 同龄儿童标准化样本（N=200）。 该方案的目标包括：（1）确定学习困难儿童的 可以通过他们的特征与规范样本区分开来。 低层次信息处理：（2）评估可靠性， 低层次信息处理“签名”的有效性;（3） 定义与LD相关的神经“构建块”。 是 预计，更彻底地了解这些“积木”， 将为治疗这种疾病的新方法提供基础。 disorder.

Although there is a vast research literature on learning disabilities (LD), experts cannot agree on answers to the questions asked most frequently by parents and teachers, namely, does the child have a learning disability and, if so, what is the problem and what can be done about it. A fundamental premise of the proposed Center is that LD is a disorder of neurodevelopment, not a disorder of specific skill acquisition. Questions to be addressed by the research program are: what neurodevelopmental characteristics can reliably distinguish LD children from non-LD children and what characteristics distinguish these children from one another. The central hypothesis to be tested is that rapid processing of temporal information is specifically disordered in LD children. We will evaluate various aspects of low-level information processing by means of coordinated studies of auditory, visual and motor behavioral paradigms, quantitative EEG and functional MRI in order to elucidate the fundamental "building blocks" of central nervous system function that are associated with LD. These will be examined in relation to the higher order features of cognition, academic performance, and social adaptation that are of greatest clinical concern. The Center comprises three Cores (Administrative, Neurobehavioral Assessment, and Human Subjects and Data Management/Biostatistics) and five projects. ,All are focussed on a single cohort of LD children, and each addresses a different level of neurobehavioral analysis. The study sample will include LD children between the ages of 8 and 11 years (N = 200) and a standardization sample of same age children (N=200). Goals of the program include (1) to determine to what extent LD children can be differentiated from a normative sample by characteristics of their low level information processing; (2) to evaluate the reliability and validity of low level information processing "signatures" of LD; (3) to define the neural "building blocks" that are associated with LD. It is anticipated that a more thorough understanding of these "building blocks" will provide a basis for novel approaches to the treatment of this disorder.