Slow reading 'linked to brain abnormalities'
04 December 2007
 New research has suggested that slow reading could be linked to abnormalities in the brain, which could provide a key to learning disabilities.
A study published in the journal Neurology has claimed that slow readers tend to have abnormalities in the white matter of their brains.
According to the researchers, this discovery could provide a way of helping to understand how and why the brain develops differently in people with learning disabilities.
"Our findings suggest that white matter integrity plays a critical role in reading fluency and that defects in white matter serve as the structural basis for the type of dyslexia we see in this brain malformation," explained Bernard S Chang of the Harvard Medical School, who led the research.
He added: "Our work highlights the importance of studying white matter structure in order to understand cognitive problems and learning disabilities more fully."
It is hoped that the discovery could help researchers and educational specialists eventually develop new techniques that can improve the automatic nature of reading in children and adults with learning difficulties.
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