A connectionist approach to word reading and acquired dyslexia: Extension to sequential processing

A connectionist approach to word reading, based on the principles of distri buted representation, graded learning of statistical structure, and interac tivity in processing, has led to the development of explicit computational models which account for a wide range of data on normal skilled reading and on patterns of reading impairment due to brain damage. There have, however , been recent empirical challenges to these models, and the approach in gen eral, relating to the influence of orthographic length on the naming latenc ies of both normal and dyslexic readers. The current work presents a simula tion which generates sequential phonological output in response to written input, and which con refixate the input when encountering difficulty. The n ormal model reeds both words and nonwords accurately, and exhibits an effec t of orthographic length and a frequency-by-consistency interaction in its naming latencies. When subject to peripheral damage, the model exhibits an increased length effect that interacts with word frequency, characteristic of letter-by-letter reading in pure alexia. Although the model is far from a fully adequate account of all the relevant phenomena, it suggests how con nectionist models may be extended to provide deeper insight into sequential processes in reading.