Brain activity of regular and dyslexic readers while reading Hebrew as compared to English sentences

The aim of the present study was to examine differences among 'regular' and dyslexic adult bilingual readers when processing reading and reading related skills in their first (L1 Hebrew) and second (L2 English) languages. Brain activity during reading Hebrew and English unexpected sentence endings was also studied. Behavioral and electrophysiological measures including event-related potentials (ERP) and low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) methodology were employed. Results indicated discrepancies in the processing profiles of dyslexic and regular bilingual readers in both first and second languages. In general, the amplitudes of the evoked potentials were higher and the latencies longer among dyslexic readers during processing of information in first and second languages (L1 and L2), but were more pronounced in English (L2). LORETA analysis indicated evidence that the source of brain activity measured by current density of brain activation is different when reading Hebrew as compared to English sentences mainly among dyslexies and not among regular readers. The data from the present study supports the 'dominanat bilingual' hypothesis for defining bilinguals. A discrepancy between achievement in performing various L1 and L2 tasks was consistent across groups. Both groups were better in there mother tongue, which was Hebrew as compared to English.