NEURODEVELOPMENTAL BASES OF LEARNING DIABILITIES

尽管有大量关于学习障碍的研究文献 (LD)，专家们无法就大多数问题的答案达成一致 经常被家长和老师问，也就是孩子有没有学习 残疾，如果是的话，问题是什么，可以做些什么。 拟议中心的一个基本前提是，学习障碍是一种 神经发育，而不是特定技能获得的障碍。问题 该研究计划要解决的问题是：什么是神经发育 特征可以可靠地区分学习困难儿童和非学习困难儿童 以及这些孩子有什么不同之处。这个 需要检验的中心假设是，对时间的快速处理 学习困难儿童的信息尤其混乱。 我们将通过以下方式评估低级别信息处理的各个方面 听觉、视觉和运动行为的协调研究方法 范式，定量脑电和功能磁共振，以阐明 中枢神经系统功能的基本“构件”是 与LD相关联。这些将与更高的 认知、学业成绩与社会适应的有序特征 这是临床上最值得关注的问题。 该中心由三个核心组成(行政、神经行为 评估、人类主题和数据管理/生物统计学)和五 项目。，所有人都集中在一个学习障碍儿童队列中，每个 解决了神经行为分析的不同层次。研究样本 将包括8至11岁的学习障碍儿童(N=200)和 同龄儿童标准化样本(N=200)。 该计划的目标包括：(1)确定学习障碍儿童的程度 可以通过它们的特征与标准样本区分开来 低水平的信息处理；(2)评估可靠性和 劳工处低级信息处理“签名”的有效性； 定义与学习障碍相关的神经“积木”。它是 预计对这些“基石”的更透彻理解 将为治疗这种疾病的新方法提供基础 无序。

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.