Location: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City
Study Focus: Children age 8-12 with symptoms of dyslexia
From the web site at: http://www.einstein.yu.edu/cogneurolab/page.aspx?ID=35975&lid=26268
As part of our ongoing research program, we are conducting a series of studies that are designed to examine the way 8-12 year-old children with dyslexia attend to and integrate sensory information (sight, hearing). Our ability to make sense of our world depends on our ability to integrate what we hear with what we see. How children with dyslexia integrate auditory (heard) and visual (seen) information is particularly interesting, since reading requires the integration of letters and speech sounds.
People with dyslexia often report problems with auditory information such as speech or with visual information such as letters. While for the majority of these children, these symptoms are already present at birth, yet most children are not diagnosed with dyslexia until the age of seven. This means that many children with dyslexia lose crucial/important years of early intervention. To be able to diagnose dyslexia at an earlier age, we need to answer a number of questions. Do children with dyslexia have a deficit/difficulty not only in being able to see and hear separately but also with being able to combine or integrate this information? Are there early signs of dyslexia present in the brain?
Do the brains of children with dyslexia function differently to their typically developing peers? What are the genetic markers of these symptoms and different brain functions? We at the Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (CNL-AECOM) are committed to answering these research questions.
To do this, we conduct brain imaging studies and genetic testing. One of these studies uses EEG to record brain activity. This means that when your child comes to our center, we place what looks like a bathing cap on his/her head (Figure 1). These caps are fitted with electrodes that rest on the surface of the cap and measure the electrical activity of the brain while participants watch movies and complete experimental tasks that are presented as computer games. All that is required is for your child to press a button on a computer. EEG is a painless procedure that can easily be used with even the youngest of infants.
For more information: Contact Dr. Zonya Mitchell at (718)-862-1878.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is located in the Bronx. Participation will require about 4-6 hours of time and parents will be provided with a full diagnostic report, free of charge.
2 comments
Holly
June 16, 2012 at 4:43 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Would you have to be able to get to your clinic, or could one participate from as far as SD? I have an 8 yr old son who I would love to have participate but we live in SD.
Abigail
June 16, 2012 at 8:50 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Holly, you would need to contact the researchers doing the study discussed in the article.
We are not involved with the study — we’ve just posted information that comes from their web site.
However, I think if you follow the link to their web site, it is very clear that they will be doing brain scans from their clinic in the Bronx.