Visual Evoked Responses (VERs) in Normal and Disabled Readers.

The present study investigated the possibility that reading disabled children exhibit abnormal visual evoked responses (VERs). Comparisons were made between a group of disabled children and two control groups of normals, one group matched on age and IQ and the other on reading level and IQ. VERs were obtained for flashes of light and word stimuli. Results indicated that the reading disabled children showed a significantly smaller amplitude in the negative wave at 180 msec following stimulus onset, for an electrode placed in the region of the left angular gyrus, compared to the two controls. All three groups showed significantly greater negative amplitudes at this latency for the word stimulus compared to the light flash. The results confirm some earlier findings and suggest that a neurological origin of reading disability is likely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]