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Tag: Dyslexia

  • Brain region associated with movement found to be abnormal in children with developmental language disorder

    Brain region associated with movement found to be abnormal in children with developmental language disorder

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    A rigorous analysis of numerous studies concludes that a part of the brain traditionally associated with movement is abnormal in children with developmental language impairments, according to Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists. The discovery has the potential to improve both the diagnosis and treatment of the language difficulties.

    The researchers investigated brain abnormalities in developmental language disorder. This condition, which impacts the development of various aspects of language, is about as common as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, and more prevalent than autism. The scientists found that abnormalities occurred specifically in the anterior neostriatum within the basal ganglia, a structure found deep in the brain. They describe their findings in Nature Human Behaviour on March 15.

    To better understand why the language impairments occur, the researchers analyzed the results of 22 articles examining brain structures in people with the disorder, and then employed a new computational method to identify common patterns of abnormalities across the studies. They determined that the anterior neostriatum was abnormal in 100% of the studies that examined the structure, with fewer abnormalities in all other parts of the brain.

    We hope that by identifying the neural bases of developmental language difficulties we may help increase awareness of a major, but also rather unrecognized, disorder. We caution, however, that further research is necessary to understand exactly how the anterior neostriatum might lead to the language difficulties.”


    Michael T. Ullman, PhD, study’s lead author, professor of neuroscience and director of the Brain and Language Laboratory at Georgetown University Medical Center

    Ullman says the findings underscore the potential utility of drugs that are known to improve movement impairments due to basal ganglia dysfunction, such as those that act on dopamine receptors. Interventions that encourage compensation by intact brain structures may also be useful. Additionally, basal ganglia abnormalities could potentially serve as early biomarkers of an increased likelihood of developmental language problems. Such early warning signs could trigger further diagnostic procedures, potentially leading to early therapy.

    “Continuing research efforts to further understand the neurobiology of developmental language disorder, especially the role of the basal ganglia, could help the many children who are affected by these problems,” concludes Ullman.

    In addition to Ullman, other authors at Georgetown include Mariel Pullman, Jarrett Lovelett, Xiong Jiang, and Peter Turkeltaub. Gillian Clark was at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Elizabeth Pierpont is at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis.

    This work was supported by NIH grants R01 HD049347 and R21 HD 087088; NSF grants BCS 1439290 and BCS 1940980; and funding from the Mabel H. Flory Trust.

    The authors declare no personal financial interests related to the study.

    Source:

    Georgetown University Medical Center

    Journal reference:

    Ullman, M. T., et al. (2024). The neuroanatomy of developmental language disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nature Human Behaviour. doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01843-6.

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  • New insight into how experiences and features of neurodiversity vary among UK adults

    New insight into how experiences and features of neurodiversity vary among UK adults

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    A new study has provided insight into how experiences and features of neurodiversity vary amongst adults in the UK.

    There is variation in people’s attributes and experiences across all populations. Neurodivergent people, such as people with a diagnosis of ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, may experience the world in distinctive ways. But, we are only beginning to appreciate how traits and experiences associated with neurodivergence differ across the whole population.

    Now, new research from the University of Birmingham has provided a more detailed picture of what neurodiversity looks like amongst adults in the UK.

    The research is published in JCPP Advances.

    Ian Apperly, Professor of Cognition and Development and Director of the Centre for Developmental Science at the University of Birmingham, who led the study said: “People’s experiences of neurodevelopmental conditions are highly variable, and it is common for people to have more than one condition. Previous research has found, for example, that the prevalence of ADHD among autistic people is around 40%.

    “We also know that people show traits associated with neurodiversity to varying extents across the entire population; it’s not just people with a diagnosed neurodevelopmental condition whose experience is influenced by these traits. What we don’t have, is a detailed understanding of what this looks like. This raises important questions that can inform our understanding of the complexity of neurodiversity across the general population.”

    Professor Apperly and his team asked 1000 people representative of the UK population aged 18-70 to report on their experiences of characteristics commonly associated with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other conditions. For example:

    • High scores for characteristics associated with autism were linked with experiences of challenges with social and imaginative skills, higher preference for routines, and attention to details, numbers, and patterns.

    • High scores for characteristics associated with ADHD were linked with tendencies for inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

    • High scores in cortical hyperexcitability were connected with visual sensitivity, and unusual visual experiences.

    • High scores for characteristics associated with dyslexia were linked with lower fluency with reading and word-finding.

    Although characteristics associated with different neurodevelopmental conditions are often considered separately, the research found that when examined at the same time there were high levels of overlap, so people reporting high characteristics for one condition, also tended to report experiences associated with other conditions.

    However, the research also found evidence of distinctive characteristics associated with specific conditions, above and beyond this general shared neurodiversity.

    We found that there is considerable overlap in the broader characteristics associated with different neurodevelopmental conditions so that people with higher levels of characteristics associated with one condition (e.g., ADHD) are also more likely to have higher levels of characteristics associated with other neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, tic disorders). But we also discovered that the same traits can be explained by different underlying causes. For example, some people reported high levels of several traits associated with autism, even though they did not report high levels of neurodivergent characteristics overall, while other people reported high levels of autistic traits alongside high levels of traits associated with other conditions. And some combinations were particularly unusual. For example, people showing high levels of traits associated with dyslexia and dyspraxia tended not to show high interest in numbers and patterns.”


    Ian Apperly, Professor of Cognition and Development and Director of the Centre for Developmental Science at the University of Birmingham

    This study is the largest examination to date to explore the diversity in how characteristics relating to neurodevelopmental conditions are expressed amongst adults in the UK. The researchers say that it has provided critical benchmark data and a framework approach for examining neurodiversity in the whole population, including people with one or more diagnoses.

    Professor Apperly concluded: “Our findings help make sense of the complexity of neurodiversity. They help us understand characteristics and experiences that might be common across neurodevelopmental conditions, as well as those that are distinctive. The study also helps us understand how two people with the same diagnosis might nonetheless have rather different characteristics and experiences. By providing a picture of how neurodiversity appears across the whole population, this research can go on to inform improvements for future studies in this area. The more we know about other people’s experiences, the better we can understand each other.”

    Source:

    Journal reference:

    Apperly, I. A., et al. (2024). A transdiagnostic approach to neurodiversity in a representative population sample: The N+ 4 model. JCPP Advances. doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12219.

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