Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31542467›Full record

ArticleCortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior2019

The link between reading ability and visual spatial attention across development.

Alex L White, Geoffrey M Boynton, Jason D Yeatman

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.

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  11. The effect of attention shifting on Chinese children's word reading in primary school.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2024
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  18. Attention extends beyond single words in beginning readers.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2021
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  19. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Alex L WhiteInstitute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States. Electronic address: alexander.l.white@gmail.com.
Geoffrey M BoyntonDepartment of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.
Jason D YeatmanInstitute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States; Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.
University of Washington · US

Funding

The Effects of Attention in Human Visual CortexR01EY012925 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI BOYNTON, GEOFFREY M · 1999 to 2018
$5.6M
Capacity limits in the neural circuitry of visual word recognitionR00EY029366 · NEI · BARNARD COLLEGE · PI WHITE, ALEXANDER LINDLEY · 2021 to 2023
$746k
Biological origins of literacyR21HD092771 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI KUHL, PATRICIA K, YEATMAN, JASON D · 2018 to 2019
$435k
Capacity limits in the neural circuitry of visual word recognitionK99EY029366 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI WHITE, ALEXANDER LINDLEY · 2018 to 2019
$233k
The cortical mechanisms of divided attention in word recognitionF32EY026785 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI WHITE, ALEXANDER LINDLEY · 2016 to 2017
$116k
NEI NIH HHS F32 EY026785NEI NIH HHS K99 EY029366NEI NIH HHS R00 EY029366NEI NIH HHS R01 EY012925NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD092771
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interacting with a cluttered and dynamic environment requires making decisions about visual information at relevant locations while ignoring irrelevant locations. Typical adults can do this with covert spatial attention: prioritizing particular visual field locations even without moving the eyes. Deficits of covert spatial attention have been implicated in developmental dyslexia, a specific reading disability. Previous studies of children with dyslexia, however, have been complicated by group differences in overall task ability that are difficult to distinguish from selective spatial attention. Here, we used a single-fixation visual search task to estimate orientation discrimination thresholds with and without an informative spatial cue in a large sample (N = 123) of people ranging in age from 5 to 70 years and with a wide range of reading abilities. We assessed the efficiency of attentional selection via the cueing effect: the difference in log thresholds with and without the spatial cue. Across our whole sample, both absolute thresholds and the cueing effect gradually improved throughout childhood and adolescence. Compared to typical readers, individuals with dyslexia had higher thresholds (worse orientation discrimination) as well as smaller cueing effects (weaker attentional selection). Those differences in dyslexia were especially pronounced prior to age 20, when basic visual function is still maturing. Thus, in line with previous theories, literacy skills are associated with the development of selective spatial attention.

Indexed as

ReadingAdolescentAdultAttentionChildDecision MakingDyslexiaFemaleFixation, OcularHumansMaleOrientationSpace PerceptionVisual FieldsVisual PerceptionYoung AdultDevelopmentDyslexiaSpatial attentionVisual perception

Identifiers

PMID31542467
PMCPMC6888968
OpenAlexW2970839560

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.