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Auditory Temporal Processing Skills in Musicians with Dyslexia
Author(s) -
BishopLiebler Paula,
Welch Graham,
Huss Martina,
Thomson Jennifer M.,
Goswami Usha
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
dyslexia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.694
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1099-0909
pISSN - 1076-9242
DOI - 10.1002/dys.1479
Subject(s) - dyslexia , psychology , rhythm , cognitive psychology , auditory perception , perception , biological theories of dyslexia , cognition , affect (linguistics) , sensory processing , phonological awareness , audiology , sensory system , developmental dyslexia , reading (process) , communication , neuroscience , linguistics , medicine , philosophy , pedagogy , literacy
The core cognitive difficulty in developmental dyslexia involves phonological processing, but adults and children with dyslexia also have sensory impairments. Impairments in basic auditory processing show particular links with phonological impairments, and recent studies with dyslexic children across languages reveal a relationship between auditory temporal processing and sensitivity to rhythmic timing and speech rhythm. As rhythm is explicit in music, musical training might have a beneficial effect on the auditory perception of acoustic cues to rhythm in dyslexia. Here we took advantage of the presence of musicians with and without dyslexia in musical conservatoires, comparing their auditory temporal processing abilities with those of dyslexic non‐musicians matched for cognitive ability. Musicians with dyslexia showed equivalent auditory sensitivity to musicians without dyslexia and also showed equivalent rhythm perception. The data support the view that extensive rhythmic experience initiated during childhood (here in the form of music training) can affect basic auditory processing skills which are found to be deficient in individuals with dyslexia. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.