Current research in search of neurobiological correlates of reading and spelling disorder

Abstract

The present article provides an overview of the main approaches in the current literature on the neurobiological correlates of developmental dyslexia. Approximately 120 articles, published mainly within the past six years, were analyzed. Three topics are of focal interest: first, the point of unusual asymmetries of the temporal plana and deviations of the corpus callosum; second, the analysis of abnormal patterns of activation of the left hemispherical frontal and temporal lobes. In this context, a dysfunction of the angular gyrus is discussed. The third approach postulates that global deficits of subcortical systems concerning the temporal procession of acoustic and visual information play a major role in the cause of dyslexia. The first approach is not specific enough with regard to negative results, whereas the second and third seem particularly promising.