An extensive pattern of atypical neural speech-sound discrimination in newborns at risk of dyslexia

Publication date: Available online 12 February 2019

Source: Clinical Neurophysiology

Author(s): Anja Thiede, Paula Virtala, Iina Ala-Kurikka, Eino Partanen, Minna Huotilainen, Kaija Mikkola, Paavo H.T. Leppänen, Teija Kujala

Abstract

Objective

Identifying early signs of developmental dyslexia, associated with deficient speech-sound processing, is paramount to establish early interventions. We aimed to find early speech-sound processing deficiencies in dyslexia, expecting diminished and atypically lateralized event-related potentials (ERP) and mismatch responses (MMR) in newborns at dyslexia risk.

Methods

ERPs were recorded to a pseudoword and its variants (vowel-duration, vowel-identity, and syllable-frequency changes) from 88 newborns at high or no familial risk. The response significance was tested, and group, laterality, and frontality effects were assessed with repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results

An early positive and right-lateralized ERP component was elicited by standard pseudowords in both groups, the response amplitude not differing between groups. Early negative MMRs were absent in the at-risk group, and MMRs to duration changes diminished compared to controls. MMRs to vowel changes had significant laterality x group interactions resulting from right-lateralized MMRs in controls.

Conclusions

The MMRs of high-risk infants were absent or diminished, and morphologically atypical, suggesting atypical neural speech-sound discrimination.

Significance

This atypical neural basis for speech discrimination may contribute to impaired language development, potentially leading to future reading problems.

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