The Neural Basis of Reading

Reading is a unique human ability that has become very pivotal for functioning in our world today. As modern societies rely extensively on literacy skills, and as reading disabilities have profound personal, economic and social consequences, it is surprising that we have a very underdeveloped scientific understanding of the neural basis of reading and visual word recognition in the normal brain. A better understanding of normal reading processes could help individuals with developmental dyslexia and other reading disabilities, and also inform our strategies for improving early learning and carrying out effective interventions. Neuroimaging offers a unique window on reading through which we have achieved profound insights into its neural correlates in both health and disease, and has also raised important questions that have generated much scientific debate. This book addresses some of the fundamental questions in reading research. Piers Cornelissen, Peter Hansen, Morten Kringelbach, and Ken Pugh have brought together some of the leading scientists to provide comprehensive articles that shed light on the neural basis of reading. Its broad-yet-integrative treatment is divided into three parts: 1) behavioural data and modelling (with direct implications for neuroimaging), 2) neuroimaging, and 3) impaired reading. The book will be a useful resource for everyone interested in the reading brain, particularly those in neuroimaging, cognition and attention, sensation and perception, language, development and aging, education, and computational modelling.

Piers L. Cornelissen, BM BCh D.Phil., is a Reader in Psychology at the Department of Psychology at the University of York. Peter C. Hansen, D.Phil., is the Director of Neuroinformatics at the Birmingham University Imaging Centre (BUIC) and Senior Research Fellow in the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK. Morten L. Kringelbach, D.Phil., is the Director of Hedonia: Trygfonden Research Group and holds a dual appointment at the University of Oxford, UK, and Aarhus University, Denmark, where he is a Senior Research Fellow and a Professor of Neuroscience, respectively. Ken Pugh is President and Director of Research and Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories, as well as Associate Professor in the Dept. of Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine.