Visual Reading Research Articles

The neural correlates of sub-lexical semantics and its integration with the lexical meaning in reading Chinese characters

The semantic neural routes in contemporary models of visual word recognition are mainly constructed based on lexical-semantic processing. However, the neural bases of processing semantic cues embodied in sub-lexical units are less clear. The current fMRI study takes the ideographic property of Chinese characters (The semantic radical can provide a semantic cue for the character's meaning) to explore the brain mechanisms of sub-lexical semantic processing and its interaction with lexical-semantic processing in a lexical decision task. The GLM results and further ROI analysis revealed that the lexical-semantic processing relied on the left posterior Middle Temporal Gyrus (pMTG) and Angular Gyrus (AG); the sub-lexical semantic processing relied on the left middle MTG (mMTG) and AG; their integration relied on the left Anterior Temporal Lobe (ATL). It sheds light on investigating the neural circuit of the semantic processing in visual word reading.

Measurements of Binocular Visual Function and Reading Ability in Induced Aniseikonia

Measurements of Binocular Visual Function and Reading Ability in Induced Aniseikonia

TRIANGULATION SCHEME OF THE TEMPLE OF YAK GENESIS NATIONAL INDIVIDUALITY On the butt of sacral objects by architect Oleg Sleptsov

The article substantiates the problem of finding national identity in the field of architecture, namely in the part of designing and building modern churches on the territory of Ukraine. The triangulation schemes of modern churches authored by O.S. Sleptsov are analyzed from the point of view of their harmony and deep, subconscious, almost at the genetic level perception of the architecture of churches in its national manifestation of decorative and ornamental feeling. The article is a continuation of the previous study of the architecture of the temples of O. S. Sleptsov from the point of view of means of their harmonization (symmetry, metro-rhythmic and proportional regularity). However, now the triangulation scheme is considered not only as a means of harmonizing the form, but also as an invisible compositional idea of the author, and its graphic reproduction is the genesis of national identity and has a direct association with the Ukrainian folk ornament of the geometric type. Analysis of triangulation schemes showed a more visual reading of such compositional categories as tectonics and dynamism.

Rapid plasticity in the ventral visual stream elicited by a newly learnt auditory script in congenitally blind adults

Accumulating evidence in the last decades has given rise to a new theory of brain organization, positing that cortical regions are recruited for specific tasks irrespective of the sensory modality via which information is channeled. For instance, the visual reading network has been shown to be recruited for reading via the tactile Braille code in congenitally blind adults. Yet, how rapidly non-typical sensory input modulates activity in typically visual regions is yet to be explored. To this aim, we developed a novel reading orthography, termed OVAL, enabling congenitally blind adults to quickly acquire reading via the auditory modality. OVAL uses the EyeMusic, a visual-to-auditory sensory-substitution-device (SSD) to transform visually presented letters optimized for auditory transformation into sound. Using fMRI, we show modulation in the right ventral visual stream following 2-h of same-day training. Crucially, following more extensive training (i.e., ∼12 h) we show that OVAL reading recruits the left ventral visual stream including the location of the Visual Word Form Area, a key graphene-responsive region within the visual reading network. Our results show that while after 2 h of SSD training we can already observe the recruitment of the deprived ventral visual stream by auditory stimuli, computation-selective cross-modal recruitment requires longer training to establish.

Reading Vision in Adults With Early and Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration Under Mesopic and Photopic Conditions.

Reading is involved in various daily activities that operate under a wide range of luminance levels. Rod- and cone-mediated mesopic visual function is known to be impaired even in early/intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It remains unclear whether and to what extent mesopic reading is impaired in early/intermediate AMD. Here, we assessed differences in reading vision between photopic and mesopic conditions in early/intermediate AMD and compared their performance to those in older adults with normal macular health. The study included 30 patients with early/intermediate AMD and 30 healthy controls. Reading performance was tested on the MNREAD iPad app under mesopic (2cd/m2 with a neural-density filter) and photopic (220 cd/m2) conditions. Four reading indices-maximum reading speed (MRS), critical print size (CPS), reading acuity (RA), and reading accessibility index (ACC)-were obtained from the MNREAD test, yielding a function representing reading speed versus print size. Compared to photopic conditions, patients with AMD and healthy controls both exhibited noticeable decreases in reading vision under mesopic conditions (P < 0.001) despite normal photopic visual acuity. This decrease was more pronounced in AMD even after adjusting for age (P < 0.001): Under mesopic conditions, MRS and ACC decreased by 8 words per minute and 0.1, respectively; CPS and RA were enlarged by 0.27 and 0.24 logMAR, respectively. Reading vision deteriorates under mesopic conditions compared to photopic conditions in early/intermediate AMD and is accentuated compared to this difference in healthy controls. A mesopic reading test may provide a more sensitive and comprehensive assessment of a patient's reading impairment.

Automatic covariance pattern analysis outperforms visual reading of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in variant progressive supranuclear palsy.

To date, studies on positron emission tomography (PET) with 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) usually included PSP cohorts overrepresenting patients with Richardson's syndrome (PSP-RS). To evaluate FDG-PET in a patient sample representing the broad phenotypic PSP spectrum typically encountered in routine clinical practice. This retrospective, multicenter study included 41 PSP patients, 21 (51%) with RS and 20 (49%) with non-RS variants of PSP (vPSP), and 46 age-matched healthy controls. Two state-of-the art methods for the interpretation of FDG-PET were compared: visual analysis supported by voxel-based statistical testing (five readers) and automatic covariance pattern analysis using a predefined PSP-related pattern. Sensitivity and specificity of the majority visual read for the detection of PSP in the whole cohort were 74% and 72%, respectively. The percentage of false-negative cases was 10% in the PSP-RS subsample and 43% in the vPSP subsample. Automatic covariance pattern analysis provided sensitivity and specificity of 93% and 83% in the whole cohort. The percentage of false-negative cases was 0% in the PSP-RS subsample and 15% in the vPSP subsample. Visual interpretation of FDG-PET supported by voxel-based testing provides good accuracy for the detection of PSP-RS, but only fair sensitivity for vPSP. Automatic covariance pattern analysis outperforms visual interpretation in the detection of PSP-RS, provides clinically useful sensitivity for vPSP, and reduces the rate of false-positive findings. Thus, pattern expression analysis is clinically useful to complement visual reading and voxel-based testing of FDG-PET in suspected PSP. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Machine-learning and water energy harvesting based wireless water consumption sensing system in buildings

In recent years, smart wireless remote water meters have become popular, but this kind of smart water meter needs an external power supply, and every 100 to 200 installed this type of water meter, needs to set up an independent collector. This kind of water meter is expensive, and the external power supply will increase the energy consumption of the building, which is not conducive to the circuit safety of the old community. In order to reduce the burden of manual meter reading and reduce the building's "carbon emissions". A wireless water consumption sensing system for buildings based on machine learning and water energy collection is designed. Images are collected and recognized by visual sensors to realize the visual reading of water meter data. The system is powered by a 12V micro water generator and transferred to lithium battery energy storage to realize the self-energy supply of the whole system. The lightweight YOLOv5 was used to implement the model training process. Then, on the premise of the small sample data set, the data set was expanded by a data enhancement method which randomly changed the image brightness and hue. Finally, the training model is deployed on MCU through the TensorFlow Lite framework to realize edge AI detection. Experiments show that the size of the lightweight YOLOv5 is reduced by 87.1% and the mAP reaches 92.3%. The system can complete the water meter wireless meter reading and realize the system self-power stably. In addition, the system can be expanded for other meter reading tasks based on visual features.

A review of experimental task design in psychophysical eye tracking research.

While eye tracking is a technique commonly used in the experimental study of higher-level perceptual processes such as visual search, working memory, reading, and scene exploration, its use for the quantification of basic visual functions (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, color vision, motion detection) is less explored. The use of eye movement features as dependent variables in a psychophysical investigation can serve multiple roles. They can be central in studies with neurological patients or infants that cannot comply with verbal instructions, understand task demands, and/or emit manual responses. The technique may also serve a complementary role, determining the conditions under which a manual or verbal response is given, such as stimulus position in the visual field, or it can afford the analysis of new dependent variables, such as the time interval between oculomotor and manual responses. Our objective is to review the literature that applied the eye tracking technique to psychophysical problems. The two questions our review raises are: can eye movements (reflex or voluntary) be an objective index of stimulus detection in psychophysical tasks? If so, under what conditions, and how does it compare with traditional paradigms requiring manual responses? Our (non-systematic) methodological review selected studies that used video-oculography as the technique of choice and had a basic visual function as their primary object of investigation. Studies satisfying those criteria were then categorized into four broad classes reflecting their main research interest: (1) stimulus detection and threshold estimation, (2) the effects of stimulus properties on fixational eye movements, (3) the effects of eye movements on perception, and (4) visual field assessment. The reviewed studies support the idea that eye tracking is a valuable technique for the study of basic perceptual processes. We discuss methodological characteristics within each of the proposed classification area, with the objective of informing future task design.

Assessment of Visual Quality Improvement as a Result of Spectacle Personalization.

Personalized spectacles customized according to an individual's facial anatomy were developed to provide enhanced visual performance and overall comfort when compared to standard spectacles. In this comparative crossover trial, each subject was randomly assigned to wear either personalized spectacles or standard spectacles for two weeks and then tried the second pair for another two weeks. Visual acuity and reading speed were measured, and visual quality and comfort were assessed using specific questionnaires. The correlation of the wearing parameters with the subjects' satisfaction was calculated. According to our results, the subjects wearing personalized glasses reported significantly less experience of swaying and significantly higher overall satisfaction compared to those wearing the control spectacles. At the end of the study, 62% of subjects preferred the personalized spectacles, and visual quality was the primary reason for their spectacle preference followed by wearing comfort. The difference from the ideal cornea-vertex distance was significantly lower when wearing the personalized spectacles compared to the control frames. In addition, the absolute value of the difference from the ideal cornea-vertex distance was significantly correlated with patient satisfaction. These results suggest that personalized spectacles, customized according to an individual's facial anatomy for the ideal wearing parameters, result in both visual and comfort advantages for wearers.

Brain MRI in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy with Richardson's Syndrome and Variant Phenotypes.

Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to support the diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). However, the value of visual descriptive, manual planimetric, automatic volumetric MRI markers and fully automatic categorization is unclear, particularly regarding PSP predominance types other than Richardson's syndrome (RS). To compare different visual reading strategies and automatic classification of T1-weighted MRI for detection of PSP in a typical clinical cohort including PSP-RS and (non-RS) variant PSP (vPSP) patients. Forty-one patients (21 RS, 20 vPSP) and 46 healthy controls were included. Three readers using three strategies performed MRI analysis: exclusively visual reading using descriptive signs (hummingbird, morning-glory, Mickey-Mouse), visual reading supported by manual planimetry measures, and visual reading supported by automatic volumetry. Fully automatic classification was performed using a pre-trained support vector machine (SVM) on the results of atlas-based volumetry. All tested methods achieved higher specificity than sensitivity. Limited sensitivity was driven to large extent by false negative vPSP cases. Support by automatic volumetry resulted in the highest accuracy (75.1% ± 3.5%) among the visual strategies, but performed not better than the midbrain area (75.9%), the best single planimetric measure. Automatic classification by SVM clearly outperformed all other methods (accuracy, 87.4%), representing the only method to provide clinically useful sensitivity also in vPSP (70.0%). Fully automatic classification of volumetric MRI measures using machine learning methods outperforms visual MRI analysis without and with planimetry or volumetry support, particularly regarding diagnosis of vPSP, suggesting the use in settings with a broad phenotypic PSP spectrum. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Effectiveness of a Mixed Methods-Based Literacy Program in Improving Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Mastery, and Reading Fluency Skills of Early Grade Students

Many young children still experience reading difficulties when they enter school age. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a mixed methods-based reading literacy program (computer-assisted reading, independent tiered reading, and group-based reading teaching) to improve reading comprehension skills, vocabulary mastery, and reading fluency among early grade students. The study used a quantitative approach with experimental research methods. A quasi-experimental design was used to achieve the research objectives by involving 350 elementary school students who were in the fourth to sixth grade range of elementary school. The sample selection in this study involved the purposive sampling technique using several criteria. The teachers involved in this study totaled 150 teachers from 8 schools who acted as program implementers at school. The reading literacy program was implemented for two semesters for five days each week. The research findings show that the mixed methods-based reading literacy program had a significant effect on all competencies (word reading efficiency, reading comprehension ability, and reading fluency) in Grade 3 students, but this increase in ability was not seen in grades 5 and 6 students. More specifically, the effect size of the intervention on oral reading fluency in Grade 3 students was greater than the effect size in Grade 5 students. Furthermore, the effect size in Grade 4 was greater than the effect size in grades 5 and 6. This is because the treatment of reading difficulties in younger students is easier and more effective than in older students. In addition, based on the results of the correlation analysis, the number of words read during reading activities using a computer had a positive relationship with word reading scores and visual word reading efficiency in the post-test phase. Therefore, mixed methods-based literacy programs have a significant impact on reading fluency, and on vocabulary mastery and reading comprehension competence and reading fluency. This research has implications in that improving reading ability in the early grades is better done by using a combination of methods, such as computer-assisted reading, independent tiered reading, and group-based reading teaching. In this way, the improvement of students’ reading skills is more optimal.

Improved interpretation of 18F-florzolotau PET in progressive supranuclear palsy using a normalization-free deep-learning classifier

While 18F-florzolotau tau PET is an emerging biomarker for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), its interpretation has been hindered by a lack of consensus on visual reading and potential biases in conventional semi-quantitative analysis. As clinical manifestations and regions of elevated 18F-florzolotau binding are highly overlapping in PSP and the Parkinsonian type of multiple system atrophy (MSA-P), developing a reliable discriminative classifier for 18F-florzolotau PET is urgently needed. Herein, we developed a normalization-free deep-learning (NFDL) model for 18F-florzolotau PET, which achieved significantly higher accuracy for both PSP and MSA-P compared to semi-quantitative classifiers. Regions driving the NFDL classifier's decision were consistent with disease-specific topographies. NFDL-guided radiomic features correlated with clinical severity of PSP. This suggests that the NFDL model has the potential for early and accurate differentiation of atypical parkinsonism and that it can be applied in various scenarios due to not requiring subjective interpretation, MR-dependent, and reference-based preprocessing.

EXPLORING THE EFFECT OF A VISUAL TELEREHABILITATION PROGRAM ON VISUAL PERCEPTION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH HEMIANOPIA CONSECUTIVE TO A BRAIN TUMOUR, PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF A PILOT STUDY

Abstract Brain tumours (BT) in children often lead to visual impairment, which represents a significant morbidity for long-term survivors. A recent Children Cancer Survivor Study showed that 22.5% of patients with astroglial tumours had visual impairment 5 years after the diagnosis. In the pediatric population with hemianopia, there are no standardized protocols for managing vision loss. In this pilot study, a 6-week home-based visual telerehabilitation program (VTP) evaluated visual changes in 10 children with hemianopia consecutive to a BT. METHOD: The study included 10 patients aged 8-18 years old with hemianopia consecutive to a pediatric BT. Five patients had a chiasmatic tumour (CT), other 5 had a tumour located outside of the chiasm (OCT). Patients followed a 6-week VTP on a virtual reality device at home with remote control of the device from the UHN laboratory. Visual assessments performed at baseline, 2, 4, 6 weeks with follow-ups at 1 and 6 months to check the visual field, contrast sensitivity and reading speed. A quality-of-life (QoL) questionnaire was also filled by patients and parents at every visit. RESULTS: The preliminary results of 8 patients have been analyzed. Four patients (3 CT, 1 OCT) showed visual field improvement with increased luminance perception in the monocular Humphrey test. Four patients (2 CT, 2 OCT) showed visual field improvement in the binocular Esterman field analysis. Reading speed improved in 6 patients (3CT, 3OCT). All patients had significant improvement in contrast sensitivity and QoL. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results of this study showed that this VTP was feasible in children. The program was effective, especially for patients with CT in improving visual field with an impact on contrast sensitivity, reading speed and QoL. Further studies are in development to confirm these results and identify the most appropriate schedules to optimize visual outcomes. POSTER CATEGORIES: BS = BASIC SCIENCE CS = CLINICAL SCIENCE RO = RADIATION ONCOLOGY MO = MEDICAL ONCOLOGY M = MISCELLANEOUS POSTER/TRAVEL AWARDS provided by: BTFC = Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada OHRI = Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Comparison of the Micronaut-AM System and the EUCAST Broth Microdilution Reference Method for MIC Determination of Four Antifungals against Aspergillus fumigatus.

The Antifungal Susceptibility Testing method of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST-AFST) is a reference technique for the determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of antifungals for Aspergillus fumigatus. However, it is time-consuming and requires expertise. Micronaut-AM (M-AM) is a fast, simple, time-saving, and ready-to-use new colorimetric method using an indicator (resazurin) to facilitate the visual reading. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the performance of the M-AM system and compare it with the EUCAST broth microdilution reference method to determine the susceptibility of 77 A. fumigatus clinical strains to amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole. Overall, the essential agreements within ±2 dilutions were 100%, 62%, 58%, and 30% and the categorical agreements were 100%, 97%, 91%, and 87% for amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole, respectively. No categorical discrepancy was found for amphotericin B, but several categorical discordances were observed with azole antifungals. However, only 2 of the 16 azole-resistant strains confirmed by the cyp51A sequencing would have been misclassified by M-AM. The use of M-AM is probably suitable for the determination of the MICs of amphotericin B, but further evaluations are needed to confirm its usefulness for the determination of the MICs of azoles for A. fumigatus.

KÖY OKULLARINDA ÖĞRENİM GÖREN ÇOCUKLARIN GÖRSEL OKUMA BİÇİMLERİ

Çalışma köy okulunda öğrenim gören 8. sınıf öğrencilerinin görsel okuma biçimlerini tespit etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın yapılma sebebi, literatürde 8. sınıf köy okullarında öğrenim gören öğrencilere yönelik görsel okuma özelinde yapılmış bir çalışmaya rastlanılmaması ve merkezi yerleştirme sınavlarında görsel okumaya yönelik soruların artış göstermesidir. Çalışma durum çalışma modeli ile kurgulanmış, nitel bir araştırmadır. Çalışma grubunu kolay ulaşılabilirlik ve ölçüt örneklem yoluyla seçilen 8. sınıfta öğrenim gören 56 köy okulu öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak, görsellere ait yorumların istendiği açık uçlu çalışma kâğıtları kullanılmıştır. Cevaplar betimsel analize tabi tutularak Hasan Efe’nin “Karikatürü Düşündüren İnsan” kitabında belirttiği görsel metin olarak karikatürün anlam yapısı konusunda derin yapı ve yüzey yapı başlıklarına göre kategorize edilerek incelenmiştir. Cevaplarda öğrencilerin çoğunluğunun yüzeysel yapıyı tasvir ettiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu kategorideki 12 öğrencinin cevabında düz okumada öne çıkan sembollerin yüzeysel yapıdan uzaklaşarak simgelere başka anlamlar yüklediği göze çarpmıştır. Sonuç olarak köy okullarında öğrenim gören çocukların çoğunun görsel okuma açısından yeterince gelişemediği görülmüştür. Öğretmen görüşlerine göre öğrenci velilerinin eğitime ilgisizliği, bu öğrencilerin öğrenim hayatları boyunca farklı uyarıcılarla karşılaşmaması ve teknolojik araçlara rahat erişimlerinin mümkün olmaması ile okuma alışkanlıklarının edinmiş olmamaları, bu duruma sebep teşkil eden durumlardır.

Vision rehabilitation using microperimetric biofeedback training in age-related macular degeneration.

To determine the impact of microperimetric biofeedback training (MBFT) on the quality of vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study was a prospective, interventional, comparative study with subjects of patients diagnosed with AMD in the National Eye Center Cicendo Eye Hospital, Indonesia. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, intervention and non-intervention with 18 patients in each group. The intervention group would receive six MBFT training sessions of 10-minute time duration each. A statistically significant improvement of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was found after the intervention, from 1.24±0.416 to 0.83±0.242 (logMAR; P<0.001). A statistically significant improvement for near vision acuity (NVA) was also observed, from 1.02±0.307 logMAR to 0.69±0.278 logMAR (P<0.001). In addition, reading rate increased, from 40.83±30.411 to 65.06±31.598 words/min (P<0.001). Similarly, a comparison of changes in BCVA, NVA, and reading rate between intervention and non-intervention groups showed a significant difference (P<0.001). MBFT significantly and positively impacts visual acuity, NVA, and reading rate in patients with AMD.

Evaluation of the perception of visual comfort, reading ability, color appearance, and global preference with respect to the CCT and the illuminance, of a university audience

With the aim of knowing the perception of a university audience of four aspects of lighting: visual comfort, reading ability, color appearance and global preference, 40 volunteers were surveyed, sitting in front of a cubicle, which was illuminated by 12 different states of lighting. The lighting was a combination of illuminances of 100 lx, 200 lx, 400 lx or 600 lx, and a CCT of 3500 K, 5000 K, or 6500 K. The different states of lighting were presented one after another randomly. The results indicate that the CCT does not have a significant influence on visual comfort, reading ability, and global preference and that these aspects depend only on the illuminance: observers prefer illuminances of 400 lx and 600 lx, with no significant difference between them. The color appearance aspect is influenced by illuminance and CCT: observers prefer illuminance values of 400 lx or 600 lx combined with CCTs of 5000 K or 6500 K.

Increased cerebral blood flow is associated with higher baseline amyloid burden in a cognitively unimpaired population

AbstractBackgroundAs cerebrovascular and Alzheimer’s proteinopathy have previously shown to affect cerebral blood flow (CBF) as well as cognition, CBF could be a potential early hemodynamic biomarker of cognitive decline. Here, we investigated to what extent cardiovascular risk factors and amyloid burden affect CBF in an elderly cognitively unimpaired (CU) population.MethodWe included 153 CU participants (minimal MMSE = 28) from the EMIF‐AD PreclinAD Twin60++ cohort (Table 1), who underwent [18F]flutemetamol PET and arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI. Amyloid‐PET scans were visually assessed as negative or positive, upon which participants were grouped based on their longitudinal changes in amyloid positivity (visual read groups). Cortical amyloid burden was quantified with the Centiloid method globally and for 4 early amyloid accumulation regions of interest (ROIs). ASL scans were processed and quantified with ExploreASL for total gray matter (GM), and for vascular territories overlapping with the amyloid ROIs (Figure 1). Longitudinal analysis including baseline Centiloid values and yearly CBF change rates (Delta CBF) was performed for 98 participants with longitudinal imaging data available (4.23 years ± 0.43 follow‐up time). Associations between CBF and amyloid — with and without the interaction of vascular risk factors (i.e., Framingham score) — were assessed using generalized estimating equations (GEEs), both for baseline and rates of change measurements. Models were adjusted for age, sex, and twin dependency.ResultWhile no association between amyloid burden and CBF was observed across the cohort, in participants with a high Framingham vascular risk score, higher amyloid was associated with increased CBF, for most ROIs (Table 2, Figure 2). Additionally, precuneus amyloid burden was predictive of CBF change in the corresponding vascular territory (Figure 3). Visual reading shows that subjects with high amyloid burden at baseline had a higher increase of CBF at follow‐up (Stable AB+, Figure 4).ConclusionWe found that the combination of cardiovascular risk and amyloid burden in AD signature regions was associated with increased CBF in CU individuals, which may reflect a vascular or inflammatory compensatory response to early Alzheimer pathology. Future studies may help understanding how these mechanisms affect cognition.

(Re)Tasking Literacy for The Digital Age

The notion of literacy is traced across the historical evolution of the phenomenon, and special emphasis is placed on the planes and modalities of its application. The key perspectives hereby examined are the following: 1) cognitive perspective, 2) cultural/social perspective, and 3) rhetorical perspective. While primarily focusing on the notion of digital literacy, the paper also examines the relatable notions of visual literacy, media literacy, reading literacy, and orality. The key premises, leaning on the works of Kress, Cytowic, Meyrowitz, Manovich, Jakobson, Ong, etc. are examined, revised, and used to offer different yet complementary perspectives on the meaning(s) of literacy applicable in the contemporary digital context.

Visual search organization in a cancellation task in developmental dyslexia

ABSTRACT There is converging evidence that performance on visual search tasks, often assessed with cancellation tasks, is associated with performance on reading tasks. However, results have been inconsistent across studies dealing with developmental dyslexia. One limitation of previous research is that accuracy, rather than search strategies, was assessed. The present study is the first to investigate visual search strategies during a cancellation task in developmental dyslexia. Here, 24 dyslexic and 33 non-dyslexic children were included. Difficulties in visual search accuracy and organization were highlighted in the dyslexic group compared to the non-dyslexic group. Visual search patterns were also different if dyslexic children had more difficulties in the lexical or the sublexical reading route. While several questions remain to be addressed regarding the influence of other visual attentional processes on the relationship between visual search and reading, this study supports the use of visual search tasks in dyslexia assessment.