Dyslexia and Neurodevelopmental Pathology

Abstract

This article addresses the neuroimaging (CT/MRI), electrophysiological (ERP/EEG), and postmortem evidence as to the neurological basis of dyslexia and discusses why these sources of evidence yield what appear to be inconsistent findings. It is concluded that what appear to be inconsistencies may relate in part to limitations of these investigative technologies. Then, important correlates of reading ability and disability are discussed in a developmental-neuropsychological context, and recommendations are made for research serving to further integrate cognitive and neurological paradigms. Of particular importance, inconsistencies between the results revealed through neuroimaging, electrophysiological, and postmortem studies, on the one hand, and neurolinguistic theory, on the other, must be addressed. Articulating the neurometabolic role—and particularly the nature of the behavioral correlates of the thalamus, supplementary motor area, and frontal cortex—in regard to bihemispheric mechanisms related to reading in developmental dyslexia should be a priority in future research.