The aims of this study were (a) to determine whether Spanish children with reading disabilities (RD) show a speech perception deficit and (b) to explore the locus and nature of this perceptive deficit. A group of 29 children with RD, 41 chronological age-matched controls, and 27 reading ability-matched younger controls were tested on tasks of speech perception. The effect of linguistic unit (word vs. syllable) and type of phonetic contrast (voicing, place and manner of articulation) were analyzed in terms of the number of errors and the response time. The results revealed a speech perception deficit in Spanish children with RD that was independent of the type of phonetic contrast and of linguistic unit.

Introducción. El objetivo de este estudio ha sido examinar el papel de las unidades multiletras, tales como el morfema y la palabra completa, en el acceso al léxico, en niños españoles con dislexia.Método. Para llevarlo a cabo, se seleccionó una muestra la cual se distribuyó en tres grupos diferentes: 1) Un grupo experimental formado por 18 niños con dificultad lectora (DAL); (2) Un grupo control de 27 lectores normales de la misma edad que el grupo de lectores con dificultad (BL); y (3) Un grupo control formado por 15 niños más jóvenes y del mismo nivel lector que los lectores con dificultad (NL). Se utilizó una tarea de selección de homófonos y de comprensión de raíces morfológicas. Se analizaron los resultados teniendo en cuenta medidas de exactitud y de latencia para la tarea de comprensión morfológica y de exactitud para la tarea de homófonos.Resultados. Los resultados mostraron que había un déficit en el procesamiento léxico en los niños con dificultad lectora ya que su rendimiento era más bajo que el de los niños más jóvenes con el mismo nivel lector. Sin embargo, cuando analizamos la latencia de la tarea de comprensión morfológica, los resultados mostraron que esta latencia disminuía, independientemente de los grupos, a medida que avanzaban las presentaciones, aunque el rendimiento del grupo de lectores normales, emparejados en edad con los lectores con dificultad, era significativamente mejor que el de los otros dos grupos.

No abstract

Our findings showed that children with either SLI subtype displayed executive dysfunctions that were not limited to verbal tasks but rather extended to nonverbal measures. This could reflect a global cognitive difficulty which, along with declining linguistic and narrative skills, illustrates the complex profile of this impairment.

The objective was to compare long-term effects of methylphenidate (MPH) and atomoxetine (ATX) on executive functions (EF) and delay aversion (DAv) in ADHD. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered at three moments (Naive, Post-1, Post-2). ADHD participants who showed deficits in the naive evaluation (n = 26) were randomized to receive either MPH (n = 13; M = 11 ± 1, M 96 ± 8) or ATX (n = 13; M = 10 ± 1, M 106 ± 16.5) optimal dosages. Parallel test forms were administered after three (Post-1) and six months (Post-2) of treatment. A control group (n = 19; M = 11 ± 1; M = 106 ± 16.5) performed the neuropsychological battery similarly. Both MPH and ATX significantly improved scores in verbal working memory (vWM) (Naive: p < 0.0001, d = 0.75; Post-1: p = 0.71, d = 0.12), spatial working memory (sWM) (Naive p < 0.0001, d = 0.63; Post-2 p = 0.44; d = 0.03), planning (Naive p < 0.0001, d = 0.54; Post-2 p = 0.6, d = 0.18), decision making (Naive p < 0.001 d = 0.28; Post-1 = 0.06 d = 0.12) and inhibition (Naive <0.0001, d = 0.66; Post-2 p = 0.08, d = 0.00), reaching an improved treatment response after three months of treatment in vWM and after six months in sWM, planning, and inhibition. No beneficial effect on DAv and risk taking was found with MPH and neither with ATX. Long-term treatment in range of optimal clinical dosages with either MPH or ATX improves EF, but not DAv in children with ADHD.