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The Relationships Between Motor Learning, the Visual System and Dyslexia

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Reading, Writing, Mathematics and the Developing Brain: Listening to Many Voices

Part of the book series: Literacy Studies ((LITS,volume 6))

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Abstract

Developmental dyslexia’s ‘Cerebellar Deficit Theory’ proposes that a subtle developmental cerebellar dysfunction leads to deficits in attaining ‘automatic’ procedures and manifests as subtle motor impairments (e.g., balance control, motor learning) along with reading and phonological difficulties. The ‘Magnocellular deficit’ and the ‘rapid visual’ theories suggest a specific deficit within the visual information processing system among dyslexic readers. Previously, we found the dyslexic readers to be inferior, as compared to their non-impaired reader peers, in their ability to acquire a novel set of hand movements while standing. In the current study, we explored the relationships between volitional and non-volitional motor learning, the visual system and dyslexia. We found the dyslexic readers to be slower and less accurate, as compared to skilled readers, in tasks that were ‘visually’ oriented and demanded reaction. However, in tasks that did not involve the visual system or when hand-eye coordination was needed rather than reaction, the groups’ performance did not differ. In addition, correlations between the performance in the visual and the motor learning tasks were found within the skill readers only. Overall, the results support the assumption that a deficit within the visual system is involved in the presumably inferior ability of the dyslexic readers to acquire a new movement.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Itamar Sela Ph.D.

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  1. Itamar Sela Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Itamar Sela Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

    Zvia Breznitz

  2. , Dept. of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    Orly Rubinsten

  3. , Dept. of Child, Youth & Fam. Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 133 Mabel Lee Hall, Lincoln, 68588-0236, Nebraska, USA

    Victoria J. Molfese

  4. , Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 321 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, 68588-0308, Nebraska, USA

    Dennis L. Molfese

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Sela, I. (2012). The Relationships Between Motor Learning, the Visual System and Dyslexia. In: Breznitz, Z., Rubinsten, O., Molfese, V., Molfese, D. (eds) Reading, Writing, Mathematics and the Developing Brain: Listening to Many Voices. Literacy Studies, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4086-0_10

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