Reading is a fundamental human capacity that recruits and tunes brain circuitry subserving several neurocognitive skills. Individual differences in reading-related skills are largely influenced by genetic variation. However, the molecular basis of the heritability of reading-related skills remains narrowly replicated. Genome-wide association…

This study examined associations between broad cognitive abilities (Fluid Reasoning [Gf], Short-Term Working Memory [Gwm], Long-Term Storage and Retrieval [Glr], Processing Speed [Gs], Comprehension-Knowledge [Gc], Visual Processing [Gv], and Auditory Processing [Ga]) and reading achievement (Basic Reading Skills, Reading Rate, Reading Fluency,…

The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of short Arabic vowels on listening comprehension. It is well documented that short vowels affect reading and reading comprehension in Arabic literacy. Since reading comprehension and listening comprehension share many commonalities, it is assumed that short vowels will positively affect…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the cognitive abilities that explain reading comprehension across childhood and early adulthood. Drawing from the standardization sample of the Woodcock-Johnson III, analyses were conducted with large samples at age levels spanning early childhood to early adulthood: 5 to 6 (n = 639), 7 to 8 (n =…

Interest in students who exhibit characteristics with difficulties in learning can be traced as far back as 1800. In order to better understand the complexities and causes of learning disabilities, many researchers (Bannatyne, 1968, 1974; Rugal, 1974) have investigated ways to better identify learners who struggle with academics. A strong argument…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of auditory memory tests to predict reading achievement of elementary pupils. Auditory memory was defined as the ability of an individual to reproduce digits, letters, sounds, words, or serial commands, immediately and correctly, in sequential order, after having heard them only once. One hundred…

In this article, we explore the relationship between rapid automatized naming (RAN) and other cognitive processes among below-average, average, and above-average readers and spellers. Nonsense word reading, phonological awareness, RAN, automaticity of balance, speech perception, and verbal short-term and working memory were measured. Factor…

Findings suggested that a deficit in auditory memory rather than cross-modal perception appears to be a factor in poor reading comprehension. (Author/DLS)

The four papers in this collection discuss language perception and comprehension and report on experiments in those areas. The first paper, "The Influence of Non-Linguistic Knowledge on Perceiving and Verifying Sentences," discusses the reliance of language perception and comprehension on the interaction of linguistic and world…

To observe the relationship of auditory and visual receptive skills to achievement in reading, 80 eight-year-old children were given a diagnostic test battery which examined three receptive skills--attention to stimuli, discrimination, and memory--within three sensory modalities--auditory, visual, and auditory-visual. The control group consisted…

A study investigated connections between reading difficulties and short term memory processes in order to explore the psychological basis for some individual differences in reading comprehension skills. Drawing on previous research indicating that poor readers were inferior to normal ones in judging whether two patterns of long and short tones…

To determine if auditory sequential memory (ASM) in young children can be improved through training and to discover the effects of such training on the reading scores of children with reading problems, a study was conducted involving 92 second and third graders. For purposes of this study, auditory sequential memory was defined as the ability to…

To investigate the problem of speechreading failure, a battery of tests was administered to 60 deaf children, half of them poor learners and half good. Results indicated that those who developed speechreading did so at an early age and could deal with words, phrases, and sentences spoken at any rate whereas poor learners comprehended only words…