Spatial selective attention and asynchrony of cognitive systems in adult dyslexic readers: an ERPs and behavioral study

The aim of this study was to gain additional knowledge about the asynchrony phenomenon in developmental dyslexia, especially when spatial selective attention is manipulated. Adults with developmental dyslexia and non-impaired readers underwent two experimental tasks, one including alphabetic stimuli (pre-lexical consonant–vowel syllables) and the other containing non-alphabetic stimuli (pictures and sounds of animals). Participants were instructed to attend to the right or left hemifields and to respond to all stimuli on that hemifield. Behavioral parameters and event-related potentials were recorded. The main finding was that the dyslexic readers demonstrated asynchrony between the auditory and visual modalities when alphabetic stimuli were presented on the right hemifield. These results suggest that intact reading is linked to a synchronized auditory and visual speed of processing even when spatial selective attention is manipulated. The findings of the current study are discussed in terms of asynchrony between modalities as a neurocognitive marker in developmental dyslexia.