It has already been previously discovered how a distinctive neural signature could explain why people with dyslexia struggle to learn how to read. However, in conducting their study, MIT neuroscientists have assumed and have recently found that the challenge could be traced to language difficulties, including problems processing printed words, and they focused their attention on the language parts of the brain. Study findings show that the brain's plasticity, which is known to support the ability to learn new things, is allegedly being reduced in these cases.
Why Dyslexia Is More Than Just A Mere Reading Disability
According to reports revealed by Time, study lead researcher John Gabrieli, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has found that dyslexia may be due to a much broader difference in brain function. He said that when the brain sees something new, whether it's a word, object, voice or experience, it expends a lot of neural energy in order to gather as much information about the novel stimulus as possible.
Furthermore, as per Daily Mail, Gabrieli and his team has found that the neurons that respond to a particular sensory input typically have a stronger reaction at first, but then become muted as the input continues. Consequently, this would then reflect the chemical changes in neurons that make it easier for them to respond to a familiar stimulus. Gabrieli has further added that there are probably few tasks people undertake that require as much plasticity as reading.
Ultimately, Gabrieli's team have highly emphasized that they will examine this phenomenon in younger children as well, in order for them to see if it appears even before they begin to learn to read. The team has added that in terms of other types of measurements, such as magnetoencephalography (MEG), this may potentially reveal more about this effect.When it comes to helping educators, researchers said that appreciating the fact that dyslexia is not just a deficit in language and reading, but something broader, should point them in the right direction.
