Making the Link Between Dorsal Stream Sensitivity and Reading

Different levels of dorsal stream functioning were teased apart to determine whether the observed deficits in dyslexic readers may exist as early as the retinal level, and to explore the relative contribution that the different aspects of dorsal processing may make to reading. The paradigm combining frequency doubled stimuli with endogenous cueing demonstrated that dyslexic readers possess a retinal level magnocellular deficit. Regression analyses provided evidence to suggest that different levels of dorsal processing relates to various aspects of reading skills, with low-level magnocellular M(y) processing relating to reading accuracy and irregular word reading, and dorsal stream functioning relating to all aspects of reading skills, including nonword reading.