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Neural entrainment and sensorimotor synchronization to the beat in children with developmental dyslexia: An EEG study

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Colling, LJ 
Noble, HL 
Goswami, UC 

Abstract

Tapping in time to a metronome beat (hereafter beat synchronization) shows considerable variability in child populations, and individual differences in beat synchronization are reliably related to reading development. Children with developmental dyslexia show impairments in beat synchronization. These impairments may reflect deficiencies in auditory perception of the beat which in turn affect auditory-motor mapping, or may reflect an independent motor deficit. Here we used a new methodology in EEG based on measuring beat-related steady-state evoked potentials (SS-EPs, Nozaradan et al., 2015) in an attempt to disentangle neural sensory and motor contributions to behavioural beat synchronization in children with dyslexia. Children tapped with both their left and right hands to every second beat of a metronome pulse delivered at 2.4 Hz, or listened passively to the beat. Analyses of preferred phase in EEG showed that the children with dyslexia had a significantly different preferred phase compared to control children in all conditions. Regarding SS-EPs, the groups differed significantly for the passive Auditory listening condition at 2.4Hz, and showed a trend towards a difference in the Right hand tapping condition at 3.6 Hz (sensorimotor integration measure). The data suggest that neural rhythmic entrainment is atypical in children with dyslexia for both an auditory beat and during sensorimotor coupling (tapping). The data are relevant to a growing literature suggesting that rhythm-based interventions may help language processing in children with developmental disorders of language learning.

Description

Keywords

EEG, developmental disabilities, dyslexia, entrainment, sensorimotor, synchronization

Journal Title

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1662-4548
1662-453X

Volume Title

11

Publisher

Frontiers Media
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (G0902375)
Medical Research Council
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