The Genetics of Reading and Language.

Recounts how our collaboration with Nick Martin was shaped over two decades, leading to the first studies of predictions from the 'Dual Route Cascaded' computational model of reading in twins, and extending into the molecular work, first linkage, fine mapping of genes identified in pedigree studies, into now the genomewide association study era and the first polygenic risk scores for reading and their potential in early clarifying causality and validating interventions, as well as for future global collaborations in improving these predictors and identifying causal variants. We highlight Nick's warm, future-focused optimism, support and inclusive approach without which none of this would have been possible. The circle of Nick asking, over half a century ago, 'What genes do you think make some kids get better grades?' has built a diverse scientific legacy involving thousands of papers and collaborations. The (heritable) traits of curiosity, boldness, warmth, interest in societally important questions, openness to new methods, ambition and collaborative skill to bring into being the infrastructure and samples needed for this research are rare, and we are grateful.

Dyslexia Augusti: Does Suetonius describe a pattern of signs consistent with dyslexia?

It is generally agreed that Morgan was the first to reliably describe dyslexia with the case of Percy F. However, Suetonius, in "The lives of the twelve Caesars" describes the Emperor Augustus as having a range of language and literacy difficulties that could be consistent with this diagnosis. Using the framework of cognitive psychology, which rarely comments on the historical record, this article argues that Suetonius describes both signs and compensating strategies typical of an adult with remediated developmental dyslexia. If accepted, this analysis would locate a possible coherent description of the condition back to the second century CE.

E.E. Cummings and dyslexia.

We suggest that the American poet E.E. Cummings was probably mildly dyslexic. Evidence, which is drawn in particular from inspection of his archival papers, includes consideration of his spelling, letter formation, handwriting, approach to page orientation, proclivity for exploration of the mirror-image, reading and educational history, struggles in the composition of analytical prose, and notable strengths in lateral thinking and the making of surprising lateral connections. We emphasise the importance of Cummings' modernist literary context as the primary shaping force for his literary aesthetic and we resist any simply reductive explanation of his literary style as a function of dyslexia. However, dyslexia may be one factor that contributes to his unique style.

General George S. Patton, Jr. and the conquest of fear.

General George S. Patton, Jr. was a highly successful World War II battle commander whose flamboyance and many idiosyncrasies made him a focus of interest for biographers. But he was an enigmatic and complex man whose success came at a high price. Despite his prominence and celebrity, there have been minimal efforts to examine his psychological makeup so crucial to his success on the battlefield. In this essay, Patton's personal story and how it relates to the stresses of war and to his leadership of men in arms is examined. Central to his success was his early triumph over dyslexia, his ability to control the fear and guilt inherent in combat, his intense physical activity, his theatrical skills, and his deep knowledge of the history and methods of warfare.

Kanji (Morphogram) and Kana (Phonogram) Problem in Japanese Alexia and Agraphia.

The kanji and kana (or kanji vs. kana) problem in the Japanese language denotes the dissociation between kanji (morphograms) and kana (phonograms) in reading/comprehension and writing. Since paragraphia of kana in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was first reported in 1893, kanji-kana dissociation has been the central topic in Japanese aphasiology. Recent advancements in lesion-to-symptom analyses and functional imaging studies have identified some areas whose damage causes dissociative disturbances of reading or writing between kanji and kana. That is, (1) angular alexia with agraphia causes kanji agraphia; alexia of kana with an angular gyrus lesion is the result of a damage to the middle occipital gyrus; (2) alexia with agraphia for kanji is caused by a posterior inferior temporal cortex (mid-fusiform/inferior temporal gyri; visual word form area) lesion, whereas pure agraphia for kanji is caused by a posterior middle temporal gyrus lesion; and (3) pure alexia, particularly for kanji, results from a mid-fusiform gyrus lesion (Brodmann's Area [BA] 37), whereas pure alexia for kana results from a posterior fusiform/inferior occipital gyri lesion (BA 18/19).

The significance of visual information processing in reading: Insights from hemianopic dyslexia.

We present the first comprehensive review of research into hemianopic dyslexia since Mauthner's original description of 1881. We offer an explanation of the reading impairment in patients with unilateral homonymous visual field disorders and clarify its functional and anatomical bases. The major focus of our review is on visual information processing, visuospatial attention and eye-movement control during reading. An advanced understanding of the basis of hemianopic dyslexia and its rehabilitation also increases our knowledge about normal reading and its underlying neural mechanisms. By drawing together various sources of evidence we illustrate the significance of bottom-up and attentional top-down control of visual information processing and saccadic eye-movements in reading. Reading depends critically on the cortical-subcortical network subserving the integration of visual, attentional and oculomotor processes involved in text processing.

[Alexia without agraphia: an exemplary deficit, cherished by neuropsychologists]. / L'alexie sans agraphie : un déficit exemplaire, choyé par les neuropsychologues.

Alexia without agraphia is the result of a left inferotemporal cortical lesion. This unilateral lesion provokes an almost irrecoverable word reading disability. This anatomical-clinical observation has identified as crucial an area on the left fusiform gyrus, which represents a sort of "letter cranial bump". This area, located near the left V4, has been labeled the visual word form area (VWFA). The VWFA ensures visual word processing whatever the visual field stimulated. In normal subjects, imaging methods show an activation of the VWFA during reading. In patients, the alexia that follows a VWFA lesion proves that this area is an essential relay for cerebral word reading processing. Therefore, pure alexia is no longer explained by a posterior interhemispheric disconnection.

[Jose Ingenieros and the amusias: the beginning of the neuropsychology in Argentina]. / Jose Ingenieros y las amusias, sobre los origenes de la neuropsicologia argentina.

The Argentine neuropsychological school is born of the hand of the European school and is part of the beginning of the Experimental Psychology. In 1896 Horacio Pinero creates the first Department of Psychology at the University of Buenos Aires and in 1898 the first laboratory of Experimental Psychology is annexed. Jose Ingeniero, psychiatrist, neurologist, politician and above all sociologist publishes in France his work about the musical aphasia, the first neuropsychological work with international significance. In the same redeems to Charcot instead of to Knoblauch like the first one to describe the amusias, it speaks of an intelligence instead of a musical language and proposes a new classification and a methodology of assessment with a neurological-psychiatric integrative perspective. This article gave rise to this book in French on the musical language and its hysterical alterations awarded by the Academy of Medicine of Paris.

TITLE: Jose Ingenieros y las amusias, sobre los origenes de la neuropsicologia argentina.La escuela neuropsicologica argentina nace de la mano de la escuela europea y forma parte del inicio de la psicologia experimental. En 1896, Horacio Pinero crea la primera catedra de psicologia de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, y en 1898 se anexa el primer laboratorio de psicologia experimental. Jose Ingenieros, psiquiatra, neurologo, politico y, sobre todo, sociologo publica en Francia su trabajo sobre afasias musicales, el primer estudio neuropsicologico argentino con trascendencia internacional. En el redime a Charcot y no a Knoblauch como el primero en describir la amusia, habla de una inteligencia y no de un lenguaje musical, y propone una clasificacion y una metodologia de evaluacion con una perspectiva integradora neurologica-psiquiatrica. Este articulo dio origen a su libro en frances sobre el lenguaje musical y sus alteraciones histericas, premiado por la Academia de Medicina de Paris.

Reading Disorders: Pro-Eating Disorder Rhetoric and Anorexia Life-Writing.

This article explores the relationship between eating disorders and reading behaviors, arguing that there is a meaningful difference in a minority of readers' approach to and understanding of anorexia life-writing, and of literary texts more broadly. To illuminate this distinction, this article begins by considering the reported deleterious influence of Marya Hornbacher's anorexia memoir, Wasted, elaborating the ways Hornbacher offers a positive presentation of anorexia nervosa that may, intentionally or not, induce certain readers to "try it" themselves. This is followed by an exploration of how Hornbacher's own reading praxis is implicated in a discursive feedback loop around anorexia narratives. It concludes with a discussion of disordered reading attitudes in relation to the emergence of the "pro-anorexia" phenomenon.

A Patient With Word Blindness in the Seventeenth Century.

Johann Jakob Wepfer (1620-1695), city physician in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, published two books on "apoplexy." He proposed new ideas about the events in the brain during such attacks, based on Harvey's theory of the circulation of the blood. Wepfer postulated extravasation of whole blood or serum in the brain, in opposition to the Galenic notion of blocked ventricles. His case histories are remarkably precise and untainted by interpretation. This allows the recognition of a patient with word blindness, who was also unable to read words written by himself. Unlike patients with pure "alexia without agraphia," he could not write complete sentences because of additional language defects, especially speech comprehension. Jules Dejerine (1849-1917) would, in 1892, not only describe a patient with the pure form of this syndrome (cécité verbale avec intégrité de l'écriture spontanée et sous dictée) but also provide an explanation of its anatomical basis.

Albert Einstein's dyslexia and the significance of Brodmann Area 39 of his left cerebral cortex.

By his own admission, Albert Einstein, 'started to talk comparatively late ... certainly not younger than three', and also had 'poor memory of words', during his childhood years. If lesions in Brodmann Area 39 of the cerebral hemisphere results in dyslexia, the 1985 report on the study of Einstein's brain that the neuron:glial ratio of Area 39 in the left cerebral hemisphere of the physicist was significantly smaller than that of the control values, provides a neuroanatomical clue to Einstein's childhood dyslexia. Though not discrediting this finding, some questions are raised in this paper regarding the controls employed in this 1985 report (1).

Historical perspectives on dyslexia.

This article begins with an historical overview of the neurological aspects of dyslexia, which was originally seen as a member of the family of aphasias. That overview is followed by a brief review of familial and genetic factors in developmental dyslexia. The article then presents psycholinguistic models of dyslexia as they relate to the neurological concepts. Finally, the author reviews briefly the evolution of methods that have been successful in the remediation of dyslexia.

Hans Christian Andersen's spelling and syntax: allegations of specific dyslexia are unfounded.

Sources contemporary with Danish author Hans Christian Andersen claimed that he did not master the Danish language, which modern studies interpret as specific dyslexia. A systematic study of his diaries from age 20 to age 70 found a mean spelling error percentage of approximately 1.7 (SD = 1%, range = 0%-4%). A methodologically independent reliability study confirmed these figures. Andersen's error percentages in poems and letters from ages 11 to 19 show a typical initial part of a learning curve that, together with the results from the diaries, gives a life span curve of his spelling development. The diaries, letters, and poems contain only insignificant syntactic errors. Andersen's spelling in the above studies is compared with that of his contemporaries and with data from modern studies. His mean error percentages at different ages are equal to the figures from nondisabled participants, but between 2 and 15 times lower than the mean percentages in studies of individuals with dyslexia. A structural analysis of Andersen's spelling errors shows that they are mainly phonologically plausible from ages 11 to 70, and that the proportions of plausible/implausible errors match those of normal achievers, but not those of individuals with dyslexia.

Historical trends in biological and medical investigations of reading disabilities: 1850-1915.

The theoretical roots of neuropsychological research lie in the case studies of reading disability completed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This article reviews the methods, technologies, and operating tenets of these studies. The results suggest that the assumptions of anatomical and functional modularity for cortical processes became guiding principles for diagnosing and correcting reading difficulties. The advent of neuron doctrine shifted the focus of neuropsychological explanations of reading difficulties from gross neuroanatomical studies to investigations of the microstructure of the central nervous system. Early definitions of reading disabilities are interpreted across the dimensions of focal lesions, autonomous cognitive processes, comorbidity with other symptoms and syndromes, etiology, and permanence.

Early case reports of dyslexia in the United States and Europe.

Current understanding of reading disabilities is rooted in the early observations of physicians dating as far back in history as the 17th century. This article reviews medical case study research from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States that identified characteristics, etiological factors, and treatment methods of reading disorders. The physicians involved provided rich descriptions of the personal struggles of individuals who lost the ability to read because of brain insult as well as of those who failed to achieve literacy because of reading disability. Although many of the theories that were advanced by these early researchers have not been supported by current investigations, others have been substantiated and withstand the test of time. This article also addresses the validity of case study research from an historic and current-day perspective.

The history of research into the disorders of reading and accommodation in strabismic amblyopia.

During the past 150 years, research on amblyopia and nystagmus has developed in five different waves (W1-W5). Amblyopia was initially regarded to be enigmatic and believed to be related to eccentric fixation (W1, after 1850); later, it was ascribed to disorders in refraction or accommodation (W2, around 1900). After 1900 (W3), phylogenetic explanations appeared, and after 1945 (W4) concepts based on successful orthoptic practice came to the fore. Since 1965 (W5), research on amblyopia has been guided by modern insights into neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. In contrast to amblyopia, nystagmus has always been a well-defined symptomatic entity. Even though amblyopia and nystagmus are both symptoms of strabismus, their understanding has therefore developed along different paths. In juvenile strabismus, defects in binocularity lead to monolateral amblyopia, while defects in contour vision lead to bilateral nystagmus. In the present paper, these five waves of amblyopia research are described in more detail, with particular attention to the concepts of adaptation, visual fields, and sensory and motor functions as related to disorders in reading and accommodation.

Historical view of the influences of measurement and reading theories on the assessment of reading.

The purpose of this study is to briefly explore the interactions among measurement theories, reading theories, and measurement practices from an historical perspective. The assessment of reading provides a useful framework for examining how theories influence, and in some cases fail to influence, the practice of reading assessment as operationalized in reading tests. The first section describes a conceptual framework for examining the assessment of reading. Next I describe the major research traditions in measurement theory that have dominated measurement practice during the 20th century. In the next section I briefly introduce major reading theories. Next, I bring together the previous two sections in order to examine the adequacy of the proposed conceptual framework for examining the assessment of reading. This section includes criticism of measurement theory by selected reading theorists. It also provides a brief history of the use of Rasch measurement theory to calibrate reading tests. Finally, the main points of the study are summarized and discussed. It should be recognized that this study represents a preliminary analysis of these issues.

[Dyslexia: actual status of our neurological and neuropsychological knowledge]. / La dislexia. Estado actual de neuestros conocimientos neurológicos y neuropsicológicos.

Developmental dyslexia is a neurological syndrome of unknown origin. Historical, conceptual, etiological, epidemiological aspects of developmental dyslexia are reviewed in a neuropsychological perspective. This article also reviews the known neuroanatomic, neuropathologic, and diagnostic basis of developmental dyslexia. Dislexic typology, with specific deficits in language, the visual domain or both, is discussed. Developmental dyslexia may be associated with several neuropsychological deficits. Its screening must be cognitively complete and according to accepted diagnostic criteria; a disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity.