CDT CDT Neuroscience of Reading & Brain-Based Learning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which brain region is primarily associated with phonological processing deficits in individuals with dyslexia?
- Occipital lobe
- Left temporoparietal cortex (Correct answer)
- Right frontal lobe
- Cerebellum
Correct answer: Left temporoparietal cortex
Research consistently implicates the left temporoparietal cortex, particularly the angular gyrus region, in the phonological processing deficits characteristic of dyslexia.
Question 2: The 'Simple View of Reading' model defines reading comprehension as the product of which two components?
- Decoding and vocabulary
- Decoding and language comprehension (Correct answer)
- Fluency and background knowledge
- Phonemic awareness and syntax
Correct answer: Decoding and language comprehension
Gough and Tunmer's Simple View states that Reading Comprehension = Decoding × Language Comprehension, highlighting that both must be adequate for proficient reading.
Question 3: Which term describes the brain's ability to reorganize neural pathways as a result of structured literacy intervention?
- Neurodegeneration
- Neuroplasticity (Correct answer)
- Cortical thinning
- Synaptic pruning
Correct answer: Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's capacity to form new neural connections in response to learning and targeted intervention, including structured literacy.
Question 4: In Shaywitz's research, which brain reading pathway is UNDERACTIVATED in readers with dyslexia during word recognition tasks?
- The anterior right-hemisphere pathway
- The posterior left-hemisphere occipito-temporal 'word form area' (Correct answer)
- The bilateral cerebellar pathway
- The prefrontal working memory pathway
Correct answer: The posterior left-hemisphere occipito-temporal 'word form area'
Shaywitz's neuroimaging studies show underactivation of the left occipito-temporal region (the 'word form area' or 'brain's letterbox') in dyslexic readers.
Question 5: The phonological deficit hypothesis proposes that dyslexia primarily results from:
- Deficient visual processing of letter shapes
- An impaired ability to represent, store, and retrieve the sound structure of words (Correct answer)
- Poor working memory for spatial information
- Slow cerebellar timing of motor sequences
Correct answer: An impaired ability to represent, store, and retrieve the sound structure of words
The phonological deficit hypothesis, supported by decades of research, holds that difficulty with the sound structure of language is the core cognitive deficit in dyslexia.
Question 6: Which finding from neuroimaging research BEST supports the effectiveness of Orton-Gillingham based interventions?
- Intervention causes increased right-hemisphere compensatory activation only
- Post-intervention fMRI shows increased activation in left posterior reading systems, resembling typical readers (Correct answer)
- Intervention has no measurable effect on brain activation patterns
- Changes are seen only in the cerebellum after intervention
Correct answer: Post-intervention fMRI shows increased activation in left posterior reading systems, resembling typical readers
Multiple fMRI studies demonstrate that effective structured literacy intervention produces increased left posterior activation, normalizing reading network function in students with dyslexia.
CDT CDT Neuroscience of Reading & Brain-Based Learning 1
Which brain region is primarily associated with phonological processing deficits in individuals with dyslexia?