Atypical Functional Organization of the Brain in Dyslexia

Abstract

Atypical functional organization in the brains of adult male dyslexics was investigated through the divided visual field (DVF) paradigm. By intentional manipulation, equal levels of overall performance between groups were obtained, which made clearer interpretation of the results possible. Both dyslexic and control subjects appeared to have left hemisphere specialization for nonsense words. Dyslexics exhibited no asymmetry for face recognition indicating bilateral representation of this function in their brains, while control subjects exhibited the expected left visual field advantage. The results are considered both as group means and as frequency data. The results provide modest support tor the hypothesis that dyslexics have atypical functional organization.