无眼动条件下中文阅读的研究

设计了计算机控制的中文阅读材料的不同显示方式,并对各种阅读过程中的徙动波形进行记录和分析。实验结果表明,无眼动的阅读速度较正常有眼动高,分别为853字/分和640字/分。通过固定窗口显示方式和知动窗口显示方式条件下中文阅读的比较,排除了强迫阅读的因素,说明有无眼动是产生阅读速度差异的主要原因;根据以上实验结果,可得出结论,在有眼动的情况下,除了saccade抑制影响阅读和识别外,主要的因素在于高级中枢对位置信号的处理,眼动的驱动控制及运动过程影响了高级中枢对阅读内容和识别内容的解码速率。无眼动阅读的速度主要受到高级中枢解码速率和记忆的影响,而不是周边视觉系统的限制。实验结果还表明,在无眼动的情况下,周边信息对阅读不仅不起帮助作用,反而起到干扰作用。     

Pupil Dilation and EEG Alpha Frequency Band Power Reveal Load on Executive Functions for Link-Selection Processes during Text Reading

Executive working memory functions play a central role in reading comprehension. In the present research we were interested in additional load imposed on executive functions by link-selection processes during computer-based reading. For obtaining process measures, we used a methodology of concurrent electroencephalographic (EEG) and eye-tracking data recording that allowed us to compare epochs of pure text reading with epochs of hyperlink-like selection processes in an online reading situation. Furthermore, this methodology allowed us to directly compare the two physiological load-measures EEG alpha frequency band power and pupil dilation. We observed increased load on executive functions during hyperlink-like selection processes on both measures in terms of decreased alpha frequency band power and increased pupil dilation. Surprisingly however, the two measures did not correlate. Two additional experiments were conducted that excluded potential perceptual, motor, or structural confounds. In sum, EEG alpha frequency band power and pupil dilation both turned out to be sensitive measures for increased load during hyperlink-like selection processes in online text reading.     

Background Speech Effects on Sentence Processing during Reading: An Eye Movement Study

Effects of background speech on reading were examined by playing aloud different types of background speech, while participants read long, syntactically complex and less complex sentences embedded in text. Readers’ eye movement patterns were used to study online sentence comprehension. Effects of background speech were primarily seen in rereading time. In Experiment 1, foreign-language background speech did not disrupt sentence processing. Experiment 2 demonstrated robust disruption in reading as a result of semantically and syntactically anomalous scrambled background speech preserving normal sentence-like intonation. Scrambled speech that was constructed from the text to-be read did not disrupt reading more than scrambled speech constructed from a different, semantically unrelated text. Experiment 3 showed that scrambled speech exacerbated the syntactic complexity effect more than coherent background speech, which also interfered with reading. Experiment 4 demonstrated that both semantically and syntactically anomalous speech produced no more disruption in reading than semantically anomalous but syntactically correct background speech. The pattern of results is best explained by a semantic account that stresses the importance of similarity in semantic processing, but not similarity in semantic content, between the reading task and background speech.     

Evaluation of visual motion perception ability in mice with knockout of the dyslexia candidate susceptibility gene Dcdc2

Developmental dyslexia is a heritable disability characterized by difficulties in learning to read and write. The neurobiological and genetic mechanisms underlying dyslexia remain poorly understood; however, several dyslexia candidate risk genes have been identified. One of these candidate risk genes—doublecortin domain containing 2 (DCDC2)—has been shown to play a role in neuronal migration and cilia function. At a behavioral level, variants of DCDC2 have been associated with impairments in phonological processing, working memory and reading speed. Additionally, a specific mutation in DCDC2 has been strongly linked to deficits in motion perception—a skill subserving reading abilities. To further explore the relationship between DCDC2 and dyslexia, a genetic knockout (KO) of the rodent homolog of DCDC2 (Dcdc2) was created. Initial studies showed that Dcdc2 KOs display deficits in auditory processing and working memory. The current study was designed to evaluate the association between DCDC2 and motion perception, as these skills have not yet been assessed in the Dcdc2 KO mouse model. We developed a novel motion perception task, utilizing touchscreen technology and operant conditioning. Dcdc2 KOs displayed deficits on the Pairwise Discrimination task specifically as motion was added to visual stimuli. Following behavioral assessment, brains were histologically prepared for neuroanatomical analysis of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The cumulative distribution showed that Dcdc2 KOs exhibited more small neurons and fewer larger neurons in the LGN. Results compliment findings that DCDC2 genetic alteration results in anomalies in visual motion pathways in a subpopulation of dyslexic patients.     

Connected Text Reading and Differences in Text Reading Fluency in Adult Readers

The process of connected text reading has received very little attention in contemporary cognitive psychology. This lack of attention is in parts due to a research tradition that emphasizes the role of basic lexical constituents, which can be studied in isolated words or sentences. However, this lack of attention is in parts also due to the lack of statistical analysis techniques, which accommodate interdependent time series. In this study, we investigate text reading performance with traditional and nonlinear analysis techniques and show how outcomes from multiple analyses can used to create a more detailed picture of the process of text reading. Specifically, we investigate reading performance of groups of literate adult readers that differ in reading fluency during a self-paced text reading task. Our results indicate that classical metrics of reading (such as word frequency) do not capture text reading very well, and that classical measures of reading fluency (such as average reading time) distinguish relatively poorly between participant groups. Nonlinear analyses of distribution tails and reading time fluctuations provide more fine-grained information about the reading process and reading fluency.     

Form–meaning links in the development of visual word recognition

Learning to read takes time and it requires explicit instruction. Three decades of research has taught us a good deal about how children learn about the links between orthography and phonology during word reading development. However, we have learned less about the links that children build between orthographic form and meaning. This is surprising given that the goal of reading development must be for children to develop an orthographic system that allows meanings to be accessed quickly, reliably and efficiently from orthography. This review considers whether meaning-related information is used when children read words aloud, and asks what we know about how and when children make connections between form and meaning during the course of reading development.     

Perceptual and Cognitive Factors Imposing “Speed Limits” on Reading Rate: A Study with the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation

Adults read at high speed, but estimates of their reading rate vary greatly, i.e., from 100 to 1500 words per minute (wpm). This discrepancy is likely due to different recording methods and to the different perceptual and cognitive processes involved in specific test conditions. The present study investigated the origins of these notable differences in RSVP reading rate (RR). In six experiments we investigated the role of many different perceptual and cognitive variables. The presence of a mask caused a steep decline in reading rate, with an estimated masking cost of about 200 wpm. When the decoding process was isolated, RR approached values of 1200 wpm. When the number of stimuli exceeded the short-term memory span, RR decreased to 800 wpm. The semantic context contributed to reading speed only by a factor of 1.4. Finally, eye movements imposed an upper limit on RR (around 300 wpm). Overall, data indicate a speed limit of 300 wpm, which corresponds to the time needed for eye movement execution, i.e., the most time consuming mechanism. Results reconcile differences in reading rates reported by different laboratories and thus provide suggestions for targeting different components of reading rate.     

“数据解读卡”文献阅读法在医学研究生文献阅读能力培养中的作用

阅读文献可以促进学生了解科学发现的过程,有利于提高学生解读实验数据的能力,培养科学研究兴趣,是基础医学教学过程中必不可少的环节。因此,有必要探索一些引导和训练学生高效阅读文献的方法。该研究旨在通过“数据解读卡”文献阅读法来引导和规范医学研究生阅读文献的过程,通过分析学生在文献文本和图片上阅读时间分配的动态变化、测试学生文献解读技能和实验设计能力以及调查学生满意度来评价“数据解读卡”文献阅读法在培养和提高医学研究生解读实验数据的能力中的作用。结果表明,“数据解读卡”文献阅读法能明显提高图片相对阅读时间,从第1周20％左右逐步提高到第12周45％左右;学生解读实验数据能力得分从第1周0分左右提高到第6N3分和第12周4分左右;平均86％左右的学生认为有利于提高文献阅读的效率和有助于论文写作。该研究结果表明,“数据解读卡”文献阅读法可以规范和训练研究生阅读文献的能力,是提高学生阅读文献效率的有效途径。     

Effective visual working memory capacity: an emergent effect from the neural dynamics in an attractor network

The study of working memory capacity is of outmost importance in cognitive psychology as working memory is at the basis of general cognitive function. Although the working memory capacity limit has been thoroughly studied, its origin still remains a matter of strong debate. Only recently has the role of visual saliency in modulating working memory storage capacity been assessed experimentally and proved to provide valuable insights into working memory function. In the computational arena, attractor networks have successfully accounted for psychophysical and neurophysiological data in numerous working memory tasks given their ability to produce a sustained elevated firing rate during a delay period. Here we investigate the mechanisms underlying working memory capacity by means of a biophysically-realistic attractor network with spiking neurons while accounting for two recent experimental observations: 1) the presence of a visually salient item reduces the number of items that can be held in working memory, and 2) visually salient items are commonly kept in memory at the cost of not keeping as many non-salient items.OUR MODEL SUGGESTS THAT WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IS DETERMINED BY TWO FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES: encoding of visual items into working memory and maintenance of the encoded items upon their removal from the visual display. While maintenance critically depends on the constraints that lateral inhibition imposes to the mnemonic activity, encoding is limited by the ability of the stimulated neural assemblies to reach a sufficiently high level of excitation, a process governed by the dynamics of competition and cooperation among neuronal pools. Encoding is therefore contingent upon the visual working memory task and has led us to introduce the concept of effective working memory capacity (eWMC) in contrast to the maximal upper capacity limit only reached under ideal conditions.     

The knowledge base of the oculomotor system.

In everyday life, eye movements enable the eyes to gather the information required for motor actions. They are thus proactive, anticipating actions rather than just responding to stimuli. This means that the oculomotor system needs to know where to look and what to look for. Using examples from table tennis, driving and music reading we show that the information the eye movement system requires is very varied in origin and highly task specific, and it is suggested that the control program or schema for a particular action must include directions for the oculomotor and visual processing systems. In many activities (reading text and music, typing, steering) processed information is held in a memory buffer for a period of about a second. This permits a match between the discontinuous input from the eyes and continuous motor output, and in particular allows the eyes to be involved in more than one task.     

Effect of a dual task on postural control in dyslexic children

Several studies have examined postural control in dyslexic children; however, their results were inconclusive. This study investigated the effect of a dual task on postural stability in dyslexic children. Eighteen dyslexic children (mean age 10.3±1.2 years) were compared with eighteen non-dyslexic children of similar age. Postural stability was recorded with a platform (TechnoConcept®) while the child, in separate sessions, made reflex horizontal and vertical saccades of 10° of amplitude, and read a text silently. We measured the surface and the mean speed of the center of pressure (CoP). Reading performance was assessed by counting the number of words read during postural measures. Both groups of children were more stable while performing saccades than while reading a text. Furthermore, dyslexic children were significantly more unstable than non-dyslexic children, especially during the reading task. Finally, the number of words read by dyslexic children was significantly lower than that of non-dyslexic children and, in contrast to the non-dyslexic children. In line with the U-shaped non-linear interaction model, we suggest that the attention consumed by the reading task could be responsible for the loss of postural control in both groups of children. The postural instability observed in dyslexic children supports the hypothesis that such children have a lack of integration of multiple sensorimotor inputs.     

Enhanced Text Spacing Improves Reading Performance in Individuals with Macular Disease

The search by many investigators for a solution to the reading problems encountered by individuals with no central vision has been long and, to date, not very fruitful. Most textual manipulations, including font size, have led to only modest gains in reading speed. Previous work on spatial integrative properties of peripheral retina suggests that ‘visual crowding’ may be a major factor contributing to inefficient reading. Crowding refers to the fact that juxtaposed targets viewed eccentrically may be difficult to identify. The purpose of this study was to assess the combined effects of line spacing and word spacing on the ability of individuals with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) to read short passages of text that were printed with either high (87.5%) or low contrast (17.5%) letters. Low contrast text was used to avoid potential ceiling effects and to mimic a possible reduction in letter contrast with light scatter from media opacities. For both low and high contrast text, the fastest reading speeds we measured were for passages of text with double line and double word spacing. In comparison with standard single spacing, double word/line spacing increased reading speed by approximately 26% with high contrast text (p < 0.001), and by 46% with low contrast text (p < 0.001). In addition, double line/word spacing more than halved the number of reading errors obtained with single spaced text. We compare our results with previous reading studies on ARMD patients, and conclude that crowding is detrimental to reading and that its effects can be reduced with enhanced text spacing. Spacing is particularly important when the contrast of the text is reduced, as may occur with intraocular light scatter or poor viewing conditions. We recommend that macular disease patients should employ double line spacing and double-character word spacing to maximize their reading efficiency.     

Evaluation of two algorithms for counting forward saccades in a reading task.

We compared two algorithms, which are used to assess the number of forward saccades in a reading task from records of eye movements. In one algorithm saccades are detected analysing the velocity of eye movements. The third derivate of eye position in time (jerk) is used in the second algorithm for the detection of saccades. Both algorithms were applied on the same set of data, recorded using 24 subjects reading a German text, which was presented on two different displays. Our subjects read the text at a mean reading speed of 258.5 word/min. Both algorithms were found to produce a similar rate of artefacts in the number of detected saccades (2.5%), provided the threshold for detection (velocity or jerk) is set at an appropriate level and the same level of threshold is applied to all data. In both algorithms, the rate of artefacts increases with increasing distance of the threshold from its optimum. Inter-individual variation of the rate of artefacts increases more pronounced in the algorithm based on jerks. Eye blinks were identified as a major source of artefacts. A remedy is proposed, by means of which the rate of artefacts can be reduced.     

Shorter Lines Facilitate Reading in Those Who Struggle

People with dyslexia, who ordinarily struggle to read, sometimes remark that reading is easier when e-readers are used. Here, we used eye tracking to observe high school students with dyslexia as they read using these devices. Among the factors investigated, we found that reading using a small device resulted in substantial benefits, improving reading speeds by 27%, reducing the number of fixations by 11%, and importantly, reducing the number of regressive saccades by more than a factor of 2, with no cost to comprehension. Given that an expected trade-off between horizontal and vertical regression was not observed when line lengths were altered, we speculate that these effects occur because sluggish attention spreads perception to the left as the gaze shifts during reading. Short lines eliminate crowded text to the left, reducing regression. The effects of attention modulation by the hand, and of increased letter spacing to reduce crowding, were also found to modulate the oculomotor dynamics in reading, but whether these factors resulted in benefits or costs depended on characteristics, such as visual attention span, that varied within our sample.     

Children’s and Adults’ On-Line Processing of Syntactically Ambiguous Sentences during Reading

While there has been a fair amount of research investigating children’s syntactic processing during spoken language comprehension, and a wealth of research examining adults’ syntactic processing during reading, as yet very little research has focused on syntactic processing during text reading in children. In two experiments, children and adults read sentences containing a temporary syntactic ambiguity while their eye movements were monitored. In Experiment 1, participants read sentences such as, ‘The boy poked the elephant with the long stick/trunk from outside the cage’ in which the attachment of a prepositional phrase was manipulated. In Experiment 2, participants read sentences such as, ‘I think I’ll wear the new skirt I bought tomorrow/yesterday. It’s really nice’ in which the attachment of an adverbial phrase was manipulated. Results showed that adults and children exhibited similar processing preferences, but that children were delayed relative to adults in their detection of initial syntactic misanalysis. It is concluded that children and adults have the same sentence-parsing mechanism in place, but that it operates with a slightly different time course. In addition, the data support the hypothesis that the visual processing system develops at a different rate than the linguistic processing system in children.     

Circadian rhythms in phonological and visuospatial storage components of working memory

Working memory is a basic cognitive process that temporarily maintains the information necessary for the performance of many complex tasks such as reading comprehension, learning and reasoning. Working memory includes two storage components: phonological and visuospatial, and a central executive control. The objective of this study was to identify possible circadian rhythms in phonological and visuospatial storage components of working memory using a constant routine protocol. Participants were eight female undergraduate students, aged 17.5±0.93, range = 16 - 19 years old. They were recorded in the laboratory in a constant routine protocol during 30 h. Rectal temperature was recorded every minute; subjective sleepiness and tiredness, as well as phonological and visuospatial working memory tasks, were assessed each hour. There were circadian variations in correct responses in phonological and visuospatial working memory tasks. Cross-correlation analysis showed a 1-h phase delay of the phonological storage component and a 3-h phase delay of the visuospatial storage component with respect to rectal temperature. This result may explain the changes in the performance of many complex tasks during the day.     

Cognitive Behavioral Performance of Untreated Depressed Patients with Mild Depressive Symptoms

This study evaluated the working memory performance of 18 patients experiencing their first onset of mild depression without treatment and 18 healthy matched controls. The results demonstrated that working memory impairment in patients with mild depression occurred when memorizing the position of a picture but not when memorizing the pictures themselves. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the emotional impact on the working memory, indicating that the attenuation of spatial working memory was not affected by negative emotion; however, cognitive control selectively affected spatial working memory. In addition, the accuracy of spatial working memory in the depressed patients was not significantly reduced, but the reaction time was significantly extended compared with the healthy controls. This finding indicated that there was no damage to memory encoding and function maintenance in the patients but rather only impaired memory retrieval, suggesting that the extent of damage to the working memory system and cognitive control abilities was associated with the corresponding depressive symptoms. The development of mild to severe depressive symptoms may be accompanied by spatial working memory damage from the impaired memory retrieval function extending to memory encoding and memory retention impairments. In addition, the impaired cognitive control began with an inadequate capacity to automatically process internal negative emotions and further extended to impairment of the ability to regulate and suppress external emotions. The results of the mood-congruent study showed that the memory of patients with mild symptoms of depression was associated with a mood-congruent memory effect, demonstrating that mood-congruent memory was a typical feature of depression, regardless of the severity of depression. This study provided important information for understanding the development of cognitive dysfunction.     

The Role of Visual Processing Speed in Reading Speed Development

A steady increase in reading speed is the hallmark of normal reading acquisition. However, little is known of the influence of visual attention capacity on children''s reading speed. The number of distinct visual elements that can be simultaneously processed at a glance (dubbed the visual attention span), predicts single-word reading speed in both normal reading and dyslexic children. However, the exact processes that account for the relationship between the visual attention span and reading speed remain to be specified. We used the Theory of Visual Attention to estimate visual processing speed and visual short-term memory capacity from a multiple letter report task in eight and nine year old children. The visual attention span and text reading speed were also assessed. Results showed that visual processing speed and visual short term memory capacity predicted the visual attention span. Furthermore, visual processing speed predicted reading speed, but visual short term memory capacity did not. Finally, the visual attention span mediated the effect of visual processing speed on reading speed. These results suggest that visual attention capacity could constrain reading speed in elementary school children.