NOTE: The following questions have been selected from questions posed by browers who have registered by entering the Brain & Learning Club. The answers have been obtained from selected Scientists from our networks.

Questions are posted in reverse chronological order, so most recently received answers to questions appear first.

Q11. How does fMRI distinguish between poor readers who are not dyslexic and those who are truly dyslexic? In her book "Overcoming Dyslexia", Dr. Shaywitz mentioned that there were differences between these two groups based on the scanning done by fMRI, but she did not explain how these difference were discovered or what they were.

A11. This question refers to a study "Neural Systems for Compensation and Persistence: Young Adult Outcome of Childhood Reading Disability" by Sally E. Shaywitz, Bennet A. Shaywitz, Robert K. Fulbright, Pawel Skudlarski, Karen E. Marchione, Jack M. Fletcher, G. Reid Lyon, and John C. Gore, that was published in Biol. Psychiatry in July, 2003 . In brief, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neurobiological outcome(s) of childhood reading disability in two groups of young adults who were poor readers as children, a relatively compensated group and a group with persistent reading difficulties, and a third group who were always good readers. We found that brain activation patterns during reading real words differed significantly between compensated and persistently poor readers, but surprisingly, not between persistently poor readers and good readers. Examination of early cognitive and school factors suggest the compensated group may represent a predominantly inherent type of reading disability and the persistently poor group, one more environmentally influenced.

The study took advantage of the availability of a cohort who are participants in the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, children who have been prospectively followed since 1983 when they were age 5 years and who have had their reading performance assessed yearly throughout their primary and secondary schooling. Poor readers were identified by word reading tests in second grade; by ninth grade some children had improved in reading accuracy (compensated poor readers) while others continued to be poor readers in ninth grade (persistently poor readers). Nonimpaired readers who had never been identified as poor readers in any grade served as controls.

FMRI was carried out when the subjects were young adults (ages 18.5 -22.5 years); subjects were imaged as they performed two different tasks: 1) sounding out pseudowords and 2) getting to the meaning of real words. While sounding out pseudowords, both compensated and persistently poor readers demonstrated a relative underactivation in posterior neural systems for reading located in left parieto-temporal and occipito-temporal regions. In contrast, while getting to the meaning of real words, fMRI findings between compensated and persistently poor readers diverged, with persistently poor readers as well as nonimpaired readers activating posterior reading systems. Further analysis, using connectivity techniques, indicated that while the posterior reading systems in nonimpaired readers were connected to components in the reading pathway related to analyzing the words sound by sound, the same systems in the persistently poor readers were connected to areas in the right frontal region related to memory. Thus, the posterior reading systems in the persistently poor readers were functioning but connected very differently from the same systems in nonimpaired readers. These fMRI findings suggest that non-impaired readers develop this system through phonologically-based word analysis; in contrast, persistently poor readers rely more on rote memory for recognizing real words. As early as first grade, compensated readers demonstrated higher verbal ability and attended less disadvantaged schools than persistently poor readers.

These findings of divergent neural outcomes for compensated and persistently poor readers as young adults are both new and unexpected. Furthermore, these findings have important educational implications and are of special relevance for teaching children to read. Consistent with our knowledge of the components of reading, children need to be able to sound out words in order to decode them accurately and then, they need to know the meaning of the word -- to help decode and comprehend the printed message. Both the sounds and the meanings of words must be taught. These findings suggest that it may be beneficial to provide early interventions aimed at stimulating both phonologic and verbal abilities in children at-risk for reading difficulties associated with disadvantage. Finally, for the first time, results from functional brain imaging studies distinguish two potential types of reading disability. These are consistent with the suggestion of two possible etiologies for childhood reading disability: a primarily genetic type with higher verbal ability (compensated poor readers) and a more environmentally influenced type who attend more disadvantaged schools and who are less skilled verbally (persistently poor readers).

Answer provided by Sally E. Shawitz, Professor of Pediatrics, Co-Director, Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, USA.

Q10. I am currently studying for a degree in Professional Language Studies. I am undertaking some research for my dissertation. I would like to ask if anyone has any opinions on what is the Best age to learn a language? Obviously this can be based on language learning and the brain, or any other opinions?

A10. There is a lot of evidence, both behavioural and brain based, that clearly indicates earlier is better for language learning, people who learn later (after 5-7 for second language learning) have significant and enduring deficits in the grammar and phonology of the late learned language. The brain systems associated with grammar and phonology for the second language do not look normal. This is quite parallel with the development of the visual system where early visual input is also necessary for normal behavioural and neural development. Now it is also interesting that other aspects of language, e.g. vocabulary learning, can go on quite normally throughout life! These are different brain systems that appear to retain plasticity (modifiability) forever. But without the grammar one is functionally illiterate for example. This also applies to first language learning and is very relevant to issues of education of the deaf. Many deaf people are not allowed to learn a signed language. In America many educators tell parents they should not allow the child to sign “because it will serve as a crutch and impede their acquition of spoken language”. This has been shown to be false. Deaf kids who learn ASL early actually do better on learning English because they have a language (ASL) which they can then use to learn written English. So, many deaf people in fact do not learn any language at all until they meet other deaf people who will teach them sign. When this occurs later than 10 years those individuals never acquire good proficiency.

Answer provided by Helen Neville, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Robert and Beverly Lewis Endowed Chair, University of Oregon, USA.

Q9. What can be done about severe problems with reading fluency?

A9. Please refer to the article by McCandliss, B.D., Beck, I., Sandak, R., & Perfetti, C. (2003). Focusing attention on decoding for children with poor reading skills: A study of the Word Building intervention. Scientific Studies of Reading.7(1),75-105. This article is published on the Sackler Institute website [download pdf]

Answer provided by OECD Secretariat.

Q8. I'm working with brain biologist James Zull on an interactive web module on brain science and learning, as described in his book and my book chapter co-authored by TRW's retired top scientist, Pete Staudhammer in my book Unique Value (forthcoming 2004) for students and teachers.

1-is any of your reading and phonemes work available on the web, ideally for teachers, and for students, also ideally avaialble 24/7?
2-Prof. Zull's application of brain science to learning in his book in my view has profound and extensive implications for education, eg, the ineffectiveness of subject driven education and rote learning. What other aspects of education and learning beyond reading has your group addresssed and published?

A8. For N° 1 you may refer to the article by McCandliss, B.D., Beck, I., Sandak, R., & Perfetti, C. (2003). Focusing attention on decoding for children with poor reading skills: A study of the Word Building intervention. Scientific Studies of Reading.7(1),75-105. This article is published on the Sackler Institute website [download pdf]

For N° 2 you may refer to the OECD Report on the Literacy and Numeracy Network Deliberations, Brocton, 2003. [download pdf], and the OECD Publication, "Understanding the Brain: Towards a news learning science", 2002.

Answer provided by OECD Secretariat.

Q7. I am teacher of the visually impaired working in southern NH and I have had a lot of referrals regarding students, ages 7-12, who have problems with sustained reading, keeping their place while reading, and written expression among many issues. I have attempted to help the various schools who are making these referrals however I feel I am seeing students who have dyslexia or a form of dyslexia. Unfortunately some of the families of these students have latched on to an optometrist who runs a "behavioral optometry" practice in our area. This doctor evaluates these young students, then concludes that they have ocular motor dysfunctions, convergence insufficiencies, accomodative errors (these are the typical diagnoses), then he further recommends vision therapy or vision training treatments at his office or to be developed at home thru a computer based vision training program. I do not agree with this type of approach to treatment for these students, mostly boys, and I feel that vision exercises are ludicrous and have nothing to do with what these individuals are dealing with. In some cases I have had the chance to observe the boys in class doing a variety of educational activities. These boys have 20/20 vision at near and far points and I have yet to see any problems with eye misalignment as I observe them doing visually directed tasks all around the room and in front of the computer. I am curious to know what your opinion is of "behavioral optometry" and if there are any significant studies that attest to its claims.

A7. We have heard of the use of eye exercises as a treatment for dyslexia. However,we are not aware of any studies validating this treatment. Moreover, the nature of the language deficit found for most dyslexics suggests that they do not have a visual deficit that might benefit from this kind of exercise, and we are not aware of any studies validating this treatment. Moreover,the nature of the language deficit found for most dyslexics suggests that they do not have a visual deficit that might benefit from this kind of exercise.

Answer provided by OECD Secretariat.

Q6: My father is 100 years old, he is very forgetful and the doctors say he has dementia...My question is when does dementia become Alzheimers?

A6: The term dementia refers to a mental disorder characterized by problems with memory and at least one other cognitive domains (for instance calculations, drawing....) that represent a change compared to usual self (to differentiate it from mental retardation) and that are severe enough to interfere with activities of daily living (to differentiate it from normal everyday forgetfulness). Dementia can be caused by many medical conditions including stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, alcoholism, nutritional deficiency, environmental toxins such as lead,or Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer disease is a brain disease that occur mostly in older people. It is the most common cause of dementia in older perosn in whom it is estimated to account for about 70% of cases of dementia. Thus, to answer the question directly, dementia does not "become" Alzheimer disease, but Alzheimer disease is one cause/type of dementia, the same way the flu is one type of infection or a hip frature is one type of traumatic injury.

Answer provided by Benoit H. Mulsant, MD, MS, Professor of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA

Q5: What are the implications of brain research for lifelong learning, in particular what learning infrastructure should the state provide? What is the role of the state and the individual?

A5: The whole project, and particularly the Lifelong Learning Network, seeks to if not answer this question, at least to shed new light on it (and on other policy issues). This is not something we can answer in briefly but step by step, as part of the goals of our project, we aim at delivering elements of response. We cannot hope to definitely and above all completely solve all educational issues thanks to brain research, but that we know for sure brain research is and will further be in a position to shed new light on old issues. Please just follow the delevopments on this website and you will learn about it, as we do, in real time or almost.
Answer provided by OECD Secretariat.

Q4: Since more then 5 years I am working on the subject of "translating" the 5 steps which H.A.Simon 1960 defined in his book the "new science of management decision" as the process of management decision and execution,namely: 1.Intelligence 2.Design 3.Choice 4.Action 5.Review, into area-specific faculties of the brain. My question: is it correct to regard the prefrontal/anterior prefrontal cortex as the area where the 1st step Intelligence takes place ?

A4:It is probably an overstatement to associate intelligence as a whole with any brain area even a large one. Intelligence covers many domains as Howard Gardner has pointed out in his book Frames of Mind. However, there does tend to be correlations among intelligence tests involving different domains, leading many theorists to consider a common "g" factor as a core of measured intelligence. John Duncan has related a particular anatomy to "g" by use of neuroimaging. His paper <Duncan, J., Seitz, R.J., Kolodny, J., Bor, D., Herzog, H. Ahmed, A., Newell, F.N., Emslie, H. (2000). A neural basis for general intelligence. Science, 289:457-460> identifies an area of the prefrontal cortex and of the anterior cingulate with "g". In this more restricted sense your identification may be correct, although certainly not all researchers would agree. If there is a common brain network that subserves "g", as Duncan argues, one may ask why this might be so. One possibility is that common to all problem solving tasks, of the sort that load on the "g" factor is the need to hold information in a temporary store while other parts of the brain retrieve related information. Many researchers would argue that working memory is a close correlate of measured IQ and the areas Duncan finds active are frequently found in working memory studies.

Answer provided by Michael Posner, University of Oregon, New York City.

Q3: What is the difference between brain and mind?

A3: In the words of Stephen Kosslyn and Olivier Koenig, "the mind is
what the brain does." Wet Mind: The New Cognitive Neuroscience by Stephen Michael Kosslyn, Olivier Koenig, Free Press, August 1995.

Q2: What is the most recent and relevant research development that is likely to impact upon primary school education?

A2: OECD has chosen three areas of research especially relevant to early childhood education. All of them have substantial developments which are likely to impact primary education. One is the early acqusition of literacy. Brain research has supported cognitive studies in showing the importance of a brain area devoted to phonological analysis of words. In brief, phonology is the ability to sound out letters into whole words. Intervention programs with children having reading difficulty have shown that, at least in some cases, training can improve the ability to decode words and allow children previously unable to activate this area while reading to do so. There is much to learn about how to turn this decoding capability into fluent reading and how best to remediate difficulties in phonology, but a substantial start has been made.

A second area of importance is in processing numbers. Research has shown that even at birth there is a crude representation of quantity. It is the problem of education to make this innate representation effective in appreciating the meaning of a number. Research suggests that there are many children who cannot effectively understand the meaning of quantity when they enter school and thus fail in early numerical education. Some remedial methods are available to remedy this deficit and they have proven effective. Active research is on going to see how remediation improves the brain's access to quantity.

A third area of importance is attention. Research has clearly shown that the ability to attend develops over the years prior to school entry and during the early school years. Attentional networks important for literacy and numeracy develop strongly in the preschool and early school years. Efforts are being made to develop methods to improve this development through training and thus ready the person for success in a variety of school subjects. We have much to learn about how to administer attention training, when it is most effective and what influence attention training has on the success of school learning.

Answer provided by Michael Posner, University of Oregon, New York City, USA

Q1: What theories of education are based on knowlege gained in neurosciences research? What practices of education use results of neurosciences research?

A1: The state of the art is such that there is little validated work available (either theoretical or practical) that is based in any direct way using the results of neuroscience research. It should be recognized that neuroscience is in its infancy, though the three OECD networks are beginning to point to research that may, in time, impact educational theories and practice. The most compelling examples involve models of dyslexia and dyscalculia. The tenuous link between neuroscience and educational applications has not hampered enthusiastic claims for"brain-based" interventions, many such programs are available commercially. Most of these should be greeted with skepticism and often are built upon superficial understandings of the brain or erroneous or outdated models (i.e., neuromyths).

The interested reader is referred to the OECD publication, "Understanding the Brain". Of particular interest are the articles and the book in the citations from John Bruer, who argues, convincingly, that the near-term gains will be found by linking educational theories and practices to cognitive science not (yet) cognitive neuroscience. Another fruitful path is to look at the work of John Anderson at Carnegie Mellon University (USA), who has National Science Foundation funding to begin to bridge the brain-education "bridge too far" discussed by Bruer.

Finally, it should be noted that emotions and the affective sides of learning have been ignored in the cognitive revolution. The products of the OECD interest group on brain research and emotion (including the importance of physiology and diet) should be considered by anyone wishing to have a comprehensive view of the relationship between neuroscience and learning. This area of research is, itself, in its infancy. Like all infants, of course, it holds great promise.

Answer provided by Anthony E. Kelly, George Mason University, USA.