image: Graphemes, the written symbols for language sounds, can be manipulated to study how the brain processes those fundamental units of alphabetic systems. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Florence Bouhali
A study involving 20 participants finds that when graphemes, written symbols for speech sounds, are manipulated to help or impair their identification, such as c-ha-ir instead of ch-ai-r, activity is modulated in a particular visual region of the brain; the results suggest that this brain region analyzes written words for translation into sounds, rather than for access to meaning--a dissociation that may explain variations in reading acquisition and proficiency, according to the authors.
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Article #19-04184: "A mesial-to-lateral dissociation for orthographic processing in the visual cortex," by Florence Bouhali, Zoé Bézagu, Stanislas Dehaene, and Laurent Cohen.
MEDIA CONTACT: Florence Bouhali, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière, Paris, FRANCE; e-mail: florence.bouhali@gmail.com
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences