Electrophysiological and Behavioral Assessment of Temporal Processing Abilities in Children with Dyslexia

Abstract

Temporal processing refers to the time aspects of an auditory or acoustic signal. Temporal processing may be defined in several ways including determination of a sound source or "spatial percept," or determination of the pitch of a sound, and the perceptual segregation of two successive acoustic events. Temporal processing deficits have also been associated with learning disabilities. The present study investigates the performance of children with dyslexia and children without learning problem on different behavioral and electrophysiological tests of temporal auditory. The second aim to investigate the relationship between speech-evoked ABR responses and behavioral tests of temporal auditory processing in children with dyslexia and children without learning problem. Performance of I 5 children with dyslexia (mean age 10. 1 years) and JO normal children without learning problem (mean age 9.5 years) were studied using behavioral tests of auditory temporal processing and speech-evoked ABR. The results indicate that all the children with dyslexia had deficits in brainstem timing. They also found to have poor performance on behavioral tests of temporal auditory processing. The present study concludes that Bio MARK may be put to clinical use to identify the temporal processing deficits in difficult-to-test population and in monitoring the temporal processing abilities in children with dyslexia, following auditory training.