Abstract
Several factors could contribute to reading problems, and interest in the contribution of visual processes has recently resurfaced. According to the dorsal view, reading problems could stem from a selective visual attentional disorder. According to the ventral view, reading deficits could stem from problems with specific visual object perception mechanisms. The aim of the current study was threefold. First, to investigate if reading problems are associated with specific deficits in feature-based processing (ventral view), as previous research points to intact holistic processing in dyslexic readers. Second, to replicate previous findings on a relationship between attentionally demanding visual search and reading problems (dorsal view). Finally, to see if these potential problems with object perception and visual attention are linked or largely independent. 60 people participated in the study. All were undergraduate students or had graduated within the past two years. Their history of reading problems and their current reading speed and accuracy were assessed. Featural processing and holistic or global form processing of faces was measured with a face matching task. Visual conjunction search, thought to be attentionally demanding, was measured using lines with a specific combination of orientation and brightness, and visual feature search was measured using a pop-out task. Reading problems appear to be associated with both task-specific problems in feature-based face matching accuracy and slower visual search, especially conjunction search. However, the association between task-specific problems in feature-based face matching accuracy and reading problems does not seem to be driven by attentional problems. There is evidence for both the ventral and dorsal view in visually driven reading deficits, but they do not seem to be connected. This indicates that reading problems have more than one underlying factor.
Acknowledgement: This research was supported by grants from the University of Iceland Research Fund and the Icelandic Research Fund (grant number: 174013-051).