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NMI-Bulletinin numerossa 1/2007 esiteltiin Niilo Mäki Instituutin ja Jyväskylän yliopiston yhteistyössä aloittamaa LukiMat-hanketta. LukiMat-hankkeen tavoitteena on kehittää tietoverkkovälitteisiä arviointija tukitoimia lukemisen ja... more
NMI-Bulletinin numerossa 1/2007 esiteltiin Niilo Mäki Instituutin ja Jyväskylän yliopiston yhteistyössä aloittamaa LukiMat-hanketta. LukiMat-hankkeen tavoitteena on kehittää tietoverkkovälitteisiä arviointija tukitoimia lukemisen ja matematiikan oppimisvaikeuksiin sekä tarjota opettajille, erityisopettajille ja vanhemmille tietoa oppimisvaikeuksista ja niiden voittamisesta. Kuvaamme tässä artikkelissa, mitä LukiMatissa on saatu tähän mennessä aikaan. Artikkelin alussa esitellään 9.11.2007 avautunut LukiMat-verkkopalvelu ja tämän jälkeen tuodaan esiin mahdollisuuksia, joita sivustolla avautuu lasten lukemisen ja matematiikan taitojen harjoittamiseen. Lopuksi luodaan ennakoiva katsaus LukiMat-hankkeen vuoteen 2008.
Agora muodostaa kohtaamispaikan, jossa yrityselämä, yhteiskunta ja yliopisto voivat yhdessä ponistella kehittääkseen uusia teknologisia ja sosiaalisia innovaatioita
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Reading Disability (RD) is often characterized by difficulties in the phonology of the language. While the molecular mechanisms underlying it are largely undetermined, loci are being revealed by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In... more
Reading Disability (RD) is often characterized by difficulties in the phonology of the language. While the molecular mechanisms underlying it are largely undetermined, loci are being revealed by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In a previous GWAS for word reading (Price, 2020), we observed that top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were located near to or in genes involved in neuronal migration/axon guidance (NM/AG) or loci implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A prominent theory of RD etiology posits that it involves disturbed neuronal migration, while potential links between RD-ASD have not been extensively investigated. To improve power to identify associated loci, we up-weighted variants involved in NM/AG or ASD, separately, and performed a new Hypothesis-Driven (HD)–GWAS. The approach was applied to a Toronto RD sample and a meta-analysis of the GenLang Consortium. For the Toronto sample (n = 624), no SNPs reached significance; however, by gene-set analysis,...
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The use of spoken and written language is a fundamental human capacity. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30 to 80% depending on... more
The use of spoken and written language is a fundamental human capacity. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30 to 80% depending on the trait. The genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, but investigations of contributions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were thus far underpowered. We present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures (word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition) in samples of 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5 to 26 y. We identified genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, P = 1.098 × 10 −8 ) at a locus that has not been associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-related traits showed robust SNP heritability, accounting for 13 to 26% of trait varia...
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Research Interests: Literacy, Multilingualism, Political Science, Orthography, Schools, and 15 moreSociocultural Evolution, Literacy development, Indigenous language, Applied Developmental Psychology, Sahara, Africanisation of Education, Literacy Instruction, Medium of Instruction, Applied Developmental Science, Oppimateriaali, Educational Policy, Afrikka, Koulutuspolitiikka, Innovation, and Alkuperäiskansat
The use of spoken and written language is a capacity that is unique to humans. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30-80%, depending... more
The use of spoken and written language is a capacity that is unique to humans. Individual differences in reading- and language-related skills are influenced by genetic variation, with twin-based heritability estimates of 30-80%, depending on the trait. The relevant genetic architecture is complex, heterogeneous, and multifactorial, and yet to be investigated with well-powered studies. Here, we present a multicohort genome-wide association study (GWAS) of five traits assessed individually using psychometric measures: word reading, nonword reading, spelling, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition, with total sample sizes ranging from 13,633 to 33,959 participants aged 5-26 years (12,411 to 27,180 for those with European ancestry, defined by principal component analyses). We identified a genome-wide significant association with word reading (rs11208009, p=1.098 × 10−8) independent of known loci associated with intelligence or educational attainment. All five reading-/language-relate...
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Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a learning disorder affecting the ability to read, with a heritability of 40–60%. A notable part of this heritability remains unexplained, and large genetic studies are warranted to identify new... more
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a learning disorder affecting the ability to read, with a heritability of 40–60%. A notable part of this heritability remains unexplained, and large genetic studies are warranted to identify new susceptibility genes and clarify the genetic bases of dyslexia. We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 2274 dyslexia cases and 6272 controls, testing associations at the single variant, gene, and pathway level, and estimating heritability using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. We also calculated polygenic scores (PGSs) based on large-scale GWAS data for different neuropsychiatric disorders and cortical brain measures, educational attainment, and fluid intelligence, testing them for association with dyslexia status in our sample. We observed statistically significant (p < 2.8 × 10−6) enrichment of associations at the gene level, forLOC388780(20p13; uncharacterized gene), and forVEPH1(3q25), a gene implicated in brain development. ...
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ABSTRACTReading and writing are crucial for many aspects of modern life but up to 1 in 10 children are affected by dyslexia [1, 2], which can persist into adulthood. Family studies of dyslexia suggest heritability up to 70% [3, 4], yet no... more
ABSTRACTReading and writing are crucial for many aspects of modern life but up to 1 in 10 children are affected by dyslexia [1, 2], which can persist into adulthood. Family studies of dyslexia suggest heritability up to 70% [3, 4], yet no convincing genetic markers have been found due to limited study power [5]. Here, we present a genome-wide association study representing a 20-fold increase in sample size from prior work, with 51,800 adults self-reporting a dyslexia diagnosis and 1,087,070 controls. We identified 42 independent genome-wide significant loci: 17 are in genes linked to or pleiotropic with cognitive ability/educational attainment; 25 are novel and may be more specifically associated with dyslexia. Twenty-three loci (12 novel) were validated in independent cohorts of Chinese and European ancestry. We confirmed a similar genetic aetiology of dyslexia between sexes, and found genetic covariance with many traits, including ambidexterity, but not neuroanatomical measures of...
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Pinyin is an alphabetic script that denotes pronunciations of Chinese characters. Studies have shown that Pinyin instruction enhances both phonological awareness (e.g., Shu et al., Developmental Science, 2008, 11, 171–181) and character... more
Pinyin is an alphabetic script that denotes pronunciations of Chinese characters. Studies have shown that Pinyin instruction enhances both phonological awareness (e.g., Shu et al., Developmental Science, 2008, 11, 171–181) and character reading (e.g., Lin et al., Psychological Science, 2010, 21, 1117–1122) in Chinese children. In the present study, we provided a 3‐week Pinyin intervention with a computer‐based Pinyin GraphoGame to disadvantaged migrant children with poor Pinyin skills. A total of 252 first graders who were children of migrant workers in a large Chinese city were assessed to identify poor Pinyin readers. Fifty‐six 7‐year‐old children with poor Pinyin skills were selected and randomly divided into a training group and a control group, with 28 children in each group. The training group played the Pinyin GraphoGame for 3 weeks, while the control group received school instruction only during the same period. Results showed that the children in the training group outperfo...
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Developmental dyslexia (DD) is one of the most prevalent learning disorders, with high impact on school and psychosocial development and high comorbidity with conditions like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression,... more
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is one of the most prevalent learning disorders, with high impact on school and psychosocial development and high comorbidity with conditions like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and anxiety. DD is characterized by deficits in different cognitive skills, including word reading, spelling, rapid naming, and phonology. To investigate the genetic basis of DD, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of these skills within one of the largest studies available, including nine cohorts of reading-impaired and typically developing children of European ancestry (N = 2562–3468). We observed a genome-wide significant effect (p < 1 × 10−8) on rapid automatized naming of letters (RANlet) for variants on 18q12.2, within MIR924HG (micro-RNA 924 host gene; rs17663182 p = 4.73 × 10−9), and a suggestive association on 8q12.3 within NKAIN3 (encoding a cation transporter; rs16928927, p = 2.25 × 10−8). rs17663182 (18q12.2) also showed...
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This chapter outlines the approaches for supporting reading development in Finnish that have been developed on the basis of current knowledge on reading development and reading disabilities in Finnish. We discuss also the challenges that... more
This chapter outlines the approaches for supporting reading development in Finnish that have been developed on the basis of current knowledge on reading development and reading disabilities in Finnish. We discuss also the challenges that the features of Finnish language and orthography pose for the reader at various points of development. We also describe the means for supporting the acquisition of the earliest milestones in reading development, that are being used widely within the Finnish elementary schools, and that have been based on findings of a large longitudinal research project (Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia, JLD). Although the knowledge on the development of reading fluency is still scarce, we outline also the research approaches aiming at developing efficient means for supporting readers struggling with fluency development, as well as aims for supporting reading comprehension using IT-based tools.
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We used a randomized controlled trial to investigate if a mobile game, GraphoLearn (GL), could effectively support the learning of first graders (N = 70), who have severe difficulties in reading and spelling. We studied the effects of two... more
We used a randomized controlled trial to investigate if a mobile game, GraphoLearn (GL), could effectively support the learning of first graders (N = 70), who have severe difficulties in reading and spelling. We studied the effects of two versions of the game: GL Reading, which focused on training letter‐sound correspondence and word reading; and GL Spelling, which included additional training in phonological skills and spelling. During the spring of first grade, the children trained with tablet computers which they could carry with them during the six‐week intervention. The average exposure time to training was 5 hr 44 min. The results revealed no differences in the development of reading or spelling skills between GL players and the control group. However, pre‐training self‐efficacy moderated the effect among GL Reading players: children with high self‐efficacy developed more than the control group in word reading fluency, whereas children with low self‐efficacy developed less tha...
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Possibly some of the most important skills that one can have are those needed to become fully literate. We all wish our children to reach such a goal. Unfortunately, the focus of attention in reading research has been on acquiring... more
Possibly some of the most important skills that one can have are those needed to become fully literate. We all wish our children to reach such a goal. Unfortunately, the focus of attention in reading research has been on acquiring readiness to sound out written language, i.e., the basic reading skills. Full literacy is the readiness to learn knowledge by reading. Thus, one has to be able to take two steps to reach full literacy. Indications related to both of these steps can be observe in the brain. This may be easiest when we observe the brain activity of a learner who faces difficulties in taking these steps. In fact, the serious difficulty of taking the first step can be observed soon after birth, shown below as a summary of relevant details from the paper published earlier in this journal. The step from a basic reading skill to reading comprehension requires that one must learn to read for the mediating meanings of the text, i.e., its morphological information, on top of the pho...
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Unlike many believe, accurate and fluent basic reading skill (ie. to decode text) is not enough for learning knowledge via reading. More than 10 years ago a digital learning game supporting the first step towards full literacy, i.e.,... more
Unlike many believe, accurate and fluent basic reading skill (ie. to decode text) is not enough for learning knowledge via reading. More than 10 years ago a digital learning game supporting the first step towards full literacy, i.e., GraphoGame (GG) was developed by the first author with his colleagues in the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. It trains the acquisition of basic reading skills, i.e., learning to sound out written language. Nowadays, when almost everyone in the world has an opportunity to use this GG, it is time to start supporting the acquisition of full literacy (FL). FL is necessary for efficient learning in school, where reading the schoolbooks successfully is essential. The present plan aims to help globally almost all who read whatever orthography to start from the earliest possible grade during which children have learned the mastery of the basic reading skill to immediately continue taking the next step to reach FL. Unlike common beliefs, support of FL is mostl...
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This paper discusses how the association learning principle works for supporting acquisition of basic spelling and reading skills using digital game-based learning environment with the Finland-based GraphoLearn (GL) technology. This... more
This paper discusses how the association learning principle works for supporting acquisition of basic spelling and reading skills using digital game-based learning environment with the Finland-based GraphoLearn (GL) technology. This program has been designed and validated to work with early readers of different alphabetic writing systems using repetition and reinforcing connections between spoken and written units. Initially GL was developed and found effective in training children at risk of reading disorders in Finland. Today GL training has been shown to support learning decoding skills among children independent of whether they face difficulties resulting from educational, social, or biological reasons.
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The acquisition of reading skills is a major landmark process in a human's cognitive development. On the neural level, a new functional network develops during this time, as children typically learn to associate the well-known sounds... more
The acquisition of reading skills is a major landmark process in a human's cognitive development. On the neural level, a new functional network develops during this time, as children typically learn to associate the well-known sounds of their spoken language with unfamiliar characters in alphabetic languages and finally access the meaning of written words, allowing for later reading. A critical component of the mature reading network located in the left occipito-temporal cortex, termed the “visual word-form system” (VWFS), exhibits print-sensitive activation in readers. When and how the sensitivity of the VWFS to print comes about remains an open question. In this study, we demonstrate the initiation of occipito-temporal cortex sensitivity to print using functional MRI (fMRI) ( n = 16) and event-related potentials (ERP) ( n = 32) in a controlled, longitudinal training study. Print sensitivity of fast (<250 ms) processes in posterior occipito-temporal brain regions accompanied...
Research Interests: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Reading, Language, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, and 13 moreBrain Mapping, Temporal Lobe, Evoked Potentials, Humans, Child, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Learning to read, Analysis of Variance, Medicine and Health Sciences, Reading Process, Medical Clinic, Occipital Lobe, and Child preschool
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Research Interests: Psychology, Education, Eye tracking, Psycholinguistics, Reading, and 15 moreLinguistics, Dyslexia, Orthography, Developmental dyslexia, Syllable, Role, Language Culture and Communication, Task analysis, Word length, Phonological decoding, Reading Process, Lexicality, Lexical decision task, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and syllables
This study surveyed and compared support systems for poor readers in six member states of the European Union (EU). The goal was to identify features of effective support systems. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among... more
This study surveyed and compared support systems for poor readers in six member states of the European Union (EU). The goal was to identify features of effective support systems. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among mainstream teachers ( n = 4,210) and remedial teachers ( n = 2,395). Results indicate that the six support systems differed substantially, with effective support systems showing high performance on all variables measured. More specifically, effective support systems were characterized by (a) high levels of both teacher and student support and (b) frequent interactions between teachers and remedial teachers as well as between remedial teachers and diagnosticians. The high prevalence of poor reading ability in the current EU member states demonstrates that educational reforms are critically needed. The results of this study provide concrete starting points for improving support systems for poor readers.
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Research Interests: Genetics, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Dyslexia, Knowledge, and 15 moreHumans, Child, Language Skills, Female, Cluster Analysis, Developmental disabilities, Developmental, Family Health, Longitudinal data, Age Factors, Educational Status, Control Group, Child preschool, Language Development Disorders, and Environmental factor
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ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of home environment factors in the acquisition of early reading skills (orthographic awareness and decoding competence). To assess these factors, a sample of seventy-two (72) first grade learners... more
ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of home environment factors in the acquisition of early reading skills (orthographic awareness and decoding competence). To assess these factors, a sample of seventy-two (72) first grade learners (females = 55%; age range = 7–8 years) and their maternal parents (age range 26–61 years old) from low SES in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka were recruited. Parents, in response to a home literacy questionnaire, reported on their attitudes towards reading, literacy teaching in the home, the home literacy environment, presence of reading materials for adults and children, parental education, occupation, family size and family possessions. Two measures of reading skill were administered at school. Correlations revealed that parental education, occupation and the size of the family were not significantly associated with the reading measures. Family possessions, parental reading attitudes, literacy activities, and reading materials significantly predicted orthographic awareness. In predicting decoding competence, only family possessions, parental reading attitudes and literacy activities were predictive. Regardless of the context, children experience literacy in varied forms and quantities.
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Preshot brain slow potential (SP) shifts from frontal, central, centro-lateral, and occipital areas were recorded for 12 national-caliber sharpshooters during rifle-shooting performance. The aim of the study was to examine the intra-and... more
Preshot brain slow potential (SP) shifts from frontal, central, centro-lateral, and occipital areas were recorded for 12 national-caliber sharpshooters during rifle-shooting performance. The aim of the study was to examine the intra-and intersubject variation in these SP profiles and to compare the superior performance to the poor performance. The results revealed that each shooter responded with one main SP profile in both performance categories. The other profiles represented outliers rather than substantial variation. The main profiles differed from subject to subject, presumably indicating several shooting styles. Finally, the main profiles related to high and low score shots could be differentiated, but this differentiation varied from subject to subject. The results were interpreted as showing that a shooter tends systematically to carry through a learned performance pattern, which is reflected in the main SP profile of the superior shots. If the shooter fails to follow this p...
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Contents: Preface. Introduction. A Macrolevel Analysis of the Nonsignal Orienting Response. A Macrolevel Analysis of the Signal Orienting Response. A Microlevel Analysis of the Orienting Response Using Extrcellular Recording. A Microlevel... more
Contents: Preface. Introduction. A Macrolevel Analysis of the Nonsignal Orienting Response. A Macrolevel Analysis of the Signal Orienting Response. A Microlevel Analysis of the Orienting Response Using Extrcellular Recording. A Microlevel Analysis of the Orienting Response Using Intracellular Recording. A Microlevel Analysis of the Orienting Response Using Intracellular Recording From the Isolated Soma. A Microlevel Analysis of the Orienting Response: Extracellular Recording From Detectors and Novelty-Dependent Neurons. Event-Related Potentials and the Orienting Response. Neuronal Organization of Color Space. The Orienting Response and Subjective Space I. The Orienting Response and Subjective Space II. Orienting, Information, and Anticipation. Auditory Event-Related Potentials in the Study of the Orienting Response. Addendum: Underlying Principles of Information Processing.
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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT