Psychophysical evidence for a general temporal processing deficit in children with dyslexia

The hypothesis of a general (i.e. cross-modal) temporal processing deficit in dyslexia was tested by examining rapid processing in both the auditory a nd the visual system in the same children with dyslexia. Participants were 10- to 12-year-old dyslexic readers and age-matched normal reading controls . Psychophysical thresholds were estimated for auditory gap and visual doub le flash detection, using a two-interval, two-alternative forced-choice par adigm. Significant group differences were found for the auditory and the vi sual test. Furthermore, temporal processing measures were significantly rel ated to word and pseudo-word reading skills. As 70% of the dyslexic readers had significantly higher thresholds than controls for both auditory and vi sual temporal processing, the evidence, tends to support the hypothesis of a general temporal processing deficit in children with dyslexia. (C) 2001 L ippincott Williams & Wilkins.