GEORGETOWN CENTER FOR READING /LEARNING /BRAIN FUNCTION

拟建中心的主要目标是促进对学习障碍的神经生物学机制的科学理解，特别强调基于语言的障碍。由于阅读是一种基本的交流手段，在掌握这项技能方面有困难的儿童处于严重的不利地位。发育性阅读障碍是一种常见的阅读障碍，其病因尚不清楚。阅读障碍的行为表现是复杂的，涉及语言和感觉运动加工的异常。虽然在行为上不那么明显，但在阅读障碍中也发现了特定的感觉处理问题，有人认为这些问题也导致了观察到的阅读障碍。更好地了解导致发育性阅读障碍的神经机制可能会为改进其诊断和治疗提供新的方法。该中心汇集了一批来自乔治敦大学、鲍曼·格雷医学院和加拉德特大学的具有广泛临床和科学经验的资深研究人员，共同开展了一系列综合项目，以研究：(1)阅读流畅性障碍的病理生理学；(2)基于语音的阅读干预计划背后的神经机制；以及(3)聋人阅读障碍的神经机制。拟议的研究项目和资源核心一起形成了一个多学科和协调的努力，将现代行为、遗传和成像方法应用于阅读相关学习障碍的机制、分类和诊断的研究。从这些研究中获得的经验将有助于更深入地理解成功的行为干预计划的神经生物学机制。

The principal goal of the proposed Center is to further the scientific understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of learning disabilities with particular emphasis on language-based disabilities. As reading is a fundamental means of communication, children who have difficulty in acquiring this skill are severely disadvantaged.. Developmental dyslexia is a common reading disorder whose etiology is poorly understood. The behavioral manifestations of dyslexia are complex, involving abnormalities in both language and sensorimotor processing. While less behaviorally evident, specific sensory processing problems have also been identified in dyslexia and it has been suggested that they also contribute to the observed reading disorder. Better knowledge concerning the neural mechanisms responsible for developmental reading disability may suggest novel approaches leading to improvements in its diagnosis and treatment. The proposed Center brings together a group of established investigators with wide clinical and scientific experience from Georgetown University, the Bowman Gray School of Medicine and Gallaudet University to collaborate on an integrated series of projects to investigate: (1) the pathophysiology of disordered reading fluency, (2) neural mechanisms underlying a phonologically-based reading intervention program, and (3) the neural mechanisms of reading impairment in deaf individuals. The proposed research projects and resource cores together form a multi- disciplinary and coordinated effort to apply modern behavioral, genetic and imaging methods to the investigations of the mechanisms, classification and diagnosis of reading related learning disabilities. The experience gained in these studies will allow development of a deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of successful behavioral intervention programs.