The study's primary contribution is a game-based cognitive intervention tool for young learners w... more The study's primary contribution is a game-based cognitive intervention tool for young learners with reading difficulties. The second contribution is the game designer's guide tool, which provides a set of recommended design guidelines for designers, developers and researchers that create games for children. The tools were designed and developed in the ReaDi-STANCE project and are accessible on the project's platform (ReaDi-STANCE platform home page: https:// www. cs. ucy. ac. cy/ proje cts/ readi stance/). The platform has the following main modules integrated: a management support module, an algorithm module to rotate in a predefined order the games the child end-user plays, a prompting stages module to support the child end-user during gameplay, and a data analytics module that researchers can use. Two different groups of experts conducted two evaluations to evaluate: (1) a corpus of game design themes and guidelines for children, extracted from the respective literature, to develop the game designer's guide tool and (2) the extent of application of the design above guidelines in the game-based cognitive intervention tool. We present the intervention impact results and discuss their effect on improving reading skills in poor readers.
We present a theory of atypical development based on a developmental theory of the typical mind i... more We present a theory of atypical development based on a developmental theory of the typical mind integrating developmental, cognitive, and psychometric theory and research. The paper comprises three parts. First, it outlines the theory of typical development. The theory postulates central cognitive mechanisms, such as relational integration, executive and inferential processes, and domain-specific processes underlying different environmental relations, such as visuospatial or quantitative relations. Cognitive development advances in cycles satisfying developmental priorities in mastering these systems, such as executive control from 2-6 years, inferential control from 7-11 years, and truth control from 12-18 years. Second, we discuss atypical development, showing how each neurodevelopmental disorder emerges from deficiencies in one or more of the processes comprising the architecture of the mind. Deficiencies in relational integration mechanisms, together with deficiencies in social understanding, yield autism spectrum disorder. Deficiencies in executive processes yield attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Deficiencies in symbolic representation yield specialized learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. Finally, we discuss clinical and educational implications, suggesting the importance of early diagnosis of malfunctioning in each of these dimensions and specific programs for their remediation.
Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performanc... more Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performance to controls on dependent measures at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention assessments. However, little is known about how learning progresses during different stages of the intervention. This lack of knowledge can be attributed to the absence of appropriate computational frameworks to encode, analyze, and capture such dynamics. We propose a novel computational framework to capture learning process dynamics during the intervention by analyzing microgenetic data. The framework addresses the problem of encoding microgenetic data into a common data representation model, introduces four information-theoretic metrics to capture the instantaneous developmental learning stages of groups and individuals, and provides the mathematical model to analyze those metrics for the study of learning stages during the intervention. We used data from a longitudinal reading remediation study involving 56 Greek-speaking 6-year-old children to demonstrate the framework's utility. Results showed that the framework functions as a new tool to explore the modulation in learning stages during the intervention, better understand how reading occurs, and how reading disability may be adequately treated.
Measuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading diffic... more Measuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading difficulties (RDs), has traditionally involved cognitive tasks that test reaction or response time, which only capture the efficiency at the output processing stage and neglect the internal stages of information processing. However, with eye-tracking methodology, we can reveal the underlying temporal and spatial processes involved in simultaneous processing and investigate whether these processes are equivalent across chronological or reading age groups. This study used eye-tracking to investigate the simultaneous processing abilities of 15 Grade 6 and 15 Grade 3 children with RDs and their chronological-age controls (15 in each Grade). The Grade 3 typical readers were used as reading-level (RL) controls for the Grade 6 RD group. Participants were required to listen to a question and then point to a picture among four competing illustrations demonstrating the spatial relationship raised in the question. Two eye movements (fixations and saccades) were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking system. The results showed that the Grade 3 RD group produced more and longer fixations than their CA controls, indicating that the pattern of eye movements of young children with RD is typically deficient compared to that of their typically developing counterparts when processing verbal and spatial stimuli simultaneously. However, no differences were observed between the Grade 6 groups in eye movement measures. Notably, the Grade 6 RD group outperformed the RL matched Grade 3 group, yielding significantly fewer and shorter fixations. The discussion centers on the role of the eye-tracking method as a reliable means of deciphering the simultaneous cognitive processing involved in learning.
Objective: We explored neural components in Electroencephalography (EEG) signals during a phonolo... more Objective: We explored neural components in Electroencephalography (EEG) signals during a phonological processing task to assess (a) the neural origins of Baddeley’s working-memory components contributing to phonological processing, (b) the unitary structure of phonological processing and (c) the neural differences between children with dyslexia (DYS) and controls (CAC). Methods: EEG data were collected from sixty children (half with dyslexia) while performing the initialand final- phoneme elision task. We explored a novel machine-learning-based approach to identify the neural components in EEG elicited in response to the two conditions and capture differences between DYS and CAC. Results: Our method identifies two sets of phoneme-related neural congruency components capturing neural activations distinguishing DYS and CAC across conditions. Conclusions: Neural congruency components capture the underlying neural mechanisms that drive the relationship between phonological deficits and dyslexia and provide insights into the phonological loop and visual-sketchpad dimensions in Baddeley’s model at the neural level. They also confirm the unitary structure of phonological awareness with EEG data.
Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performanc... more Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performance to controls on dependent measures at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention assessments. However, little is known about how learning progresses during different stages of the intervention. This lack of knowledge can be attributed to the absence of appropriate computational frameworks to encode, analyze, and capture such dynamics. We propose a novel computational framework to capture learning process dynamics during the intervention by analyzing microgenetic data. The framework addresses the problem of encoding microgenetic data into a common data representation model, introduces four information-theoretic metrics to capture the instantaneous developmental learning stages of groups and individuals, and provides the mathematical model to analyze those metrics for the study of learning stages during the intervention. We used data from a longitudinal reading remediation study involving 56 Greek-speaking 6-year-old children to demonstrate the framework's utility. Results showed that the framework functions as a new tool to explore the modulation in learning stages during the intervention, better understand how reading occurs, and how reading disability may be adequately treated.
The Center for Applied Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus,... more The Center for Applied Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus, Cyprus, hosted on May 31 through June 3, 2023, the Final Conference of the 4-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Innovative Training Network (ITN) project on ‘Neurodevelopmental Optimal Predictors Risk Factors and Interventions from a Systems Approach for Maladjustment in Children’, https://neoprismc.org/final-conference/#101. The conference abstracts included in the present article reflect the remarkable work carried out by the 15 ESRs under the guidance of our esteemed consortium colleagues. They also highlight a wide network of collaborations in the specific subject. Neo-PRISM-C studied neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), which emerge early in development and result in long-term disability, compromising the quality of life of millions of Europeans. Through this issue, we celebrate our collective achievements and the knowledge and discoveries we have acquired.
The present study followed a reading-level match design to investigate group differences in eye m... more The present study followed a reading-level match design to investigate group differences in eye movements between grade three and grade six Greek-speaking children with reading difficulties (RD) and controls (chronological age (CA) and reading-level (RL)matched groups), examining their performance on RAN tasks of different modalities (phonological vs. visual) and complexity levels (confounding vs. not-confounding conditions). Three eye movements (fixations, saccades, and regressions) were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking system. The results showed that both grade three and grade six RD groups produced more and longer durations and regressions and more saccades compared to their CA controls in all tasks. However, no differences were observed between the grade six RD and the RL-matched groups in the eyetracking measures. The present findings have important implications for determining the contribution of the reading level match design in eye-tracking reading-related research and exploring the causality of reading difficulties in consistent orthographies.
Objective: Naming speed, behaviorally measured via the serial Rapid automatized naming (RAN) test... more Objective: Naming speed, behaviorally measured via the serial Rapid automatized naming (RAN) test, is one of the most examined underlying cognitive factors of reading development and reading difficulties (RD). However, the unconstrained-reading format of serial RAN has made it challenging for traditional EEG analysis methods to extract neural components for studying the neural underpinnings of naming speed. The present study aims to explore a novel approach to isolate neural components during the serial RAN task that are (a) informative of group differences between children with dyslexia (DYS) and chronological age controls (CAC), (b) improve the power of analysis, and (c) are suitable for deciphering the neural underpinnings of naming speed. Methods: We propose a novel machine-learning-based algorithm that extracts spatiotemporal neural components during serial RAN, termed RAN-related neural-congruency components. We demonstrate our approach on EEG and eye-tracking recordings from 60 children (30 DYS and 30 CAC), under phonologically or visually similar, and dissimilar control tasks. Results: Results reveal significant differences in the RAN-related neural-congruency components between DYS and CAC groups in all four conditions. Conclusion: Rapid automatized naming-related neural-congruency components capture the neural activity of cognitive processes associated with naming speed and are informative of group differences between children with dyslexia and typically developing children.
Significance: We propose the resulting RAN-related neural-components as a methodological framework to facilitate studying the neural underpinnings of naming speed and their association with reading performance and related difficulties.
International Journal for Research in Learning Disabilities, 2023
The Conference at the University of Oviedo, Spain, within the 44th Annual Meeting of the Internat... more The Conference at the University of Oviedo, Spain, within the 44th Annual Meeting of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, was an excellent opportunity to share knowledge, explore perspectives and reflect on the study of neurodevelopmental disorders in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The William M. Cruickshank Memorial Keynote Address, New Directions in the Study of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, covered a broad range of topics relevant to cognition, intelligence, and achievement. It also provided the opportunity to present parts of our current work pertinent to the study of neurodevelopmental dysfunctions and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) ITN Neo-PRISM-C project. The presentation began by focusing on what we study and how and why we study what we study about neurodevelopmental disorders. This was followed by a discussion about the brain and (learning) behaviour, accompanied by some relevant evidence on the neurological basis for reading difficulties, particularly the phonological and visual deficits pathways in the framework of the magnocellular deficit theory. The session concluded with a discussion of the comorbidity of various disorders and the use of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework as an alternative to the traditional diagnostic categories for the study of neurodevelopmental disorders. Examples of how neuroscience research can contribute to this endeavour were also provided.
The present study investigated the differences between children with reading difficulties (RD) an... more The present study investigated the differences between children with reading difficulties (RD) and their controls (CA) (age range = 7.7–12.08 years; Mage = 9.79 years; SD=1.57; Females = 24) on two phonological awareness tasks (phoneme elision and spoonerism), using Event-Related Potentials. EEG data recording elicited the N400 component in both tasks. The results revealed that 8-year-old children with RD produced significantly longer Ν400 than their CA controls in phoneme elision task, suggesting that younger children with RD require more time to process the phonological stimuli than their peers. No differences were observed in N400 components between the 11-year-olds, showing that the RD children outgrow difficulties in phonological awareness tasks due to the consistency of the Greek writing system. The RD and CA groups did not differ in the spoonerism task, probably due to the task’s increased complexity. Discussion centers around the role of Event-Related Potentials in providing valuable information about the phonological mechanisms underpinning reading.
Identifying the neural basis of dyslexia is a fundamental goal of developmental neuroscience. Fi... more Identifying the neural basis of dyslexia is a fundamental goal of developmental neuroscience. Final-phoneme elision (PE) test is a paradigm used for assessing phonological deficit (PD), which is widely considered a causal risk factor for dyslexia. However, the causal relationship between PD to dyslexia has been examined primarily based on behavioral observations. Towards facilitating the exploration of the neurophysiological origins of the theorized link between PD and dyslexia, we set out to isolate differential neural activation patterns in children with dyslexia during PE. Accordingly, we present a machine-learning-based approach to identifying differential brain activity in children with dyslexia and controls during the PE. Our method formulates an optimization problem to extract informative EEG components based on the ‘Neural-congruency hypothesis’, termed Phoneme-related Neural-congruency components. It then uses a machine-learning algorithm to optimally combine the resulting components to differentiate between the neural activity of children with dyslexia and controls. We apply our approach to a real EEG dataset involving children with dyslexia and controls. Our findings demonstrate that our method generates novel insights into the neural underpinnings of dyslexia and the potential neural origins of phonological deficits as a causal factor of dyslexia. Notably, our approach overcomes several methodological challenges in conventional EEG analysis methods; therefore, it could be utilized in studying the neural origins of other behaviorally defined developmental disorders previously overlooked because of such methodological constraints.
Scientific studies of language behavior need to grapple with a large diversity of languages in th... more Scientific studies of language behavior need to grapple with a large diversity of languages in the world and, for reading, a further variability in writing systems. Yet, the ability to form meaningful theories of reading is contingent on the availability of cross-linguistic behavioral data. This paper offers new insights into aspects of reading behavior that are shared and those that vary systematically across languages through an investigation of eye-tracking data from 13 languages recorded during text reading. We begin with reporting a bibliometric analysis of eye-tracking studies showing that the current empirical base is insufficient for cross-linguistic comparisons. We respond to this empirical lacuna by presenting the Multilingual Eye-Movement Corpus (MECO), the product of an international multi-lab collaboration. We examine which behavioral indices differentiate between reading in written languages, and which measures are stable across languages. One of the findings is that readers of different languages vary considerably in their skipping rate (i.e., the likelihood of not fixating on a word even once) and that this variability is explained by cross-linguistic differences in word length distributions. In contrast, if readers do not skip a word, they tend to spend a similar average time viewing it. We outline the implications of these findings for theories of reading. We also describe prospective uses of the publicly available MECO data, and its further development plans.
Research into the second language (L2) reading is an exponentially growing field. Yet, it still h... more Research into the second language (L2) reading is an exponentially growing field. Yet, it still has a relatively short supply of comparable, ecologically valid data from readers representing a variety of first languages (L1). This article addresses this need by presenting a new data resource called MECO L2 (Multilingual Eye Movements Corpus), a rich behavioural eye-tracking record of text reading in English as an L2 among 543 university student speakers of 12 different L1s. MECO L2 includes a test battery of component skills of reading and allows for a comparison of the participants’ reading performance in their L1 and L2. This data resource enables innovative large-scale cross-sample analyses of predictors of L2 reading fluency and comprehension. We first introduce the design and structure of the MECO L2 resource, along with reliability estimates and basic descriptive analyses. Then, we illustrate the utility of MECO L2 by quantifying the contributions of four sources to variability in L2 reading proficiency proposed in prior literature: reading fluency and comprehension in L1, proficiency in L2 component skills of reading, extralinguistic factors, and the L1 of the readers. Major findings included (a) a fundamental contrast between the determinants of L2 reading fluency versus comprehension accuracy, and (b) high within-participant consistency in the real-time strategy of reading in L1 and L2. We conclude by reviewing the implications of these findings to theories of L2 acquisition and outline further directions in which the new data resource may support L2 reading research.
The present study investigated the psychological effect of pandemic
protection measures, particu... more The present study investigated the psychological effect of pandemic protection measures, particularly the possible consequences of confinement measures in children (ages 5-9) and adolescents (ages 10- 18). We developed a bespoke questionnaire whose structure was focused on the individuals' primary and general psychological needs, while there were also exploratory questions about the current emotional state and concern for the future. A sample of 715 participants (336 children and 479 adolescents) from Cyprus and Greece responded to the questionnaire online. Results showed significant age group differences in emotional state aspects and change of daily life, school and distance education. Gender differences were observed in elements of hygiene, sense of security, and everyday life change. In conclusion, both children and adolescents could cope with the challenges the confinement measures brought with them, despite the unprecedented conditions.
The main aim of the present study was to empirically test the emergence of the Simple View of Rea... more The main aim of the present study was to empirically test the emergence of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) in a transparent orthography, and specifically in Greek. To do so, we examined whether the constituent components of the SVR could be identified in young, Greek-speaking children even before the beginning of formal reading instruction. Our investigation focused on Kindergarten children and examined the dissociation of decoding-related and language comprehension skills using Exploratory Factor Analysis. All children ...
European Journal of Psychology of Education , 2021
School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils i... more School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils in classrooms raises significant challenges for teachers, but to date, there are no data from large-scale surveys that compare views within and across European countries. A bespoke questionnaire was designed to examine views of current classroom learning environments with respect to the multilingualism. The questionnaire was piloted and subsequently completed by 2792 teachers across different European countries. Eleven countries provided sufficient data for analyses. Results from structural equation modelling showed that teachers' attitudes could be reliably measured across Europe with the use of carefully devised questionnaire, whose loading and factor structure remained invariant across countries. Teachers' views about multilingualism were most challenged by the numbers of children in their classes, not the percentage of multilingual pupils in the class. Countries differed in how they perceived multilingualism, with their differences leading to distinctive country clusters. Gender and education level (elementary vs. secondary) differences were also observed irrespective of country. These findings enhance our understanding of the role that the characteristics of teachers and their classrooms play in a multilingual setting across diverse European settings. The practical relevance of the results and new opportunities for teacher training are discussed.
Objective: We combined electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking recordings to examine the un... more Objective: We combined electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking recordings to examine the underlying factors elicited during the serial Rapid-Automatized Naming (RAN) task that may differentiate between children with dyslexia (DYS) and chronological age controls (CAC). Methods: Thirty children with DYS and 30 CAC (M age = 9.79 years; age range 7.6 through 12.1 years) performed a set of serial RAN tasks. We extracted fixation-related potentials (FRPs) under phonologically similar (rime-confound) or visually similar (resembling lowercase letters) and dissimilar (non-confounding and discrete uppercase letters, respectively) control tasks. Results: Results revealed significant differences in FRP amplitudes between DYS and CAC groups under the phonologically similar and phonologically non-confounding conditions. No differences were observed in the case of the visual conditions. Moreover, regression analysis showed that the average amplitude of the extracted components significantly predicted RAN performance. Conclusion: FRPs capture neural components during the serial RAN task informative of differences between DYS and CAC and establish a relationship between neurocognitive processes during serial RAN and dyslexia. Significance: We suggest our approach as a methodological model for the concurrent analysis of neurophysiological and eye-gaze data to decipher the role of RAN in reading.
Research on literacy has become universal and is essential for researchers of various disciplines... more Research on literacy has become universal and is essential for researchers of various disciplines, educators, and psychologists. For this article, we examined the most important methodological challenges that arise when conducting literacy research across languages, some of which have long been acknowledged in the relevant literature. Specifically, we focused on challenges related to research on word reading, spelling, passage comprehension, and writing, ranging from the target skills, constructs, and assessment issues to the matching of the samples and measurement and factorial invariance issues. We conclude that although theoretical and applied issues have been addressed in the literature, to date, this has happened only with limited relevance for reading and writing research across languages. The discussion provides some relevant evidence from a neuroscience perspective to promote useful insights and greater methodological rigor in literacy research across languages.
The study's primary contribution is a game-based cognitive intervention tool for young learners w... more The study's primary contribution is a game-based cognitive intervention tool for young learners with reading difficulties. The second contribution is the game designer's guide tool, which provides a set of recommended design guidelines for designers, developers and researchers that create games for children. The tools were designed and developed in the ReaDi-STANCE project and are accessible on the project's platform (ReaDi-STANCE platform home page: https:// www. cs. ucy. ac. cy/ proje cts/ readi stance/). The platform has the following main modules integrated: a management support module, an algorithm module to rotate in a predefined order the games the child end-user plays, a prompting stages module to support the child end-user during gameplay, and a data analytics module that researchers can use. Two different groups of experts conducted two evaluations to evaluate: (1) a corpus of game design themes and guidelines for children, extracted from the respective literature, to develop the game designer's guide tool and (2) the extent of application of the design above guidelines in the game-based cognitive intervention tool. We present the intervention impact results and discuss their effect on improving reading skills in poor readers.
We present a theory of atypical development based on a developmental theory of the typical mind i... more We present a theory of atypical development based on a developmental theory of the typical mind integrating developmental, cognitive, and psychometric theory and research. The paper comprises three parts. First, it outlines the theory of typical development. The theory postulates central cognitive mechanisms, such as relational integration, executive and inferential processes, and domain-specific processes underlying different environmental relations, such as visuospatial or quantitative relations. Cognitive development advances in cycles satisfying developmental priorities in mastering these systems, such as executive control from 2-6 years, inferential control from 7-11 years, and truth control from 12-18 years. Second, we discuss atypical development, showing how each neurodevelopmental disorder emerges from deficiencies in one or more of the processes comprising the architecture of the mind. Deficiencies in relational integration mechanisms, together with deficiencies in social understanding, yield autism spectrum disorder. Deficiencies in executive processes yield attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Deficiencies in symbolic representation yield specialized learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. Finally, we discuss clinical and educational implications, suggesting the importance of early diagnosis of malfunctioning in each of these dimensions and specific programs for their remediation.
Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performanc... more Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performance to controls on dependent measures at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention assessments. However, little is known about how learning progresses during different stages of the intervention. This lack of knowledge can be attributed to the absence of appropriate computational frameworks to encode, analyze, and capture such dynamics. We propose a novel computational framework to capture learning process dynamics during the intervention by analyzing microgenetic data. The framework addresses the problem of encoding microgenetic data into a common data representation model, introduces four information-theoretic metrics to capture the instantaneous developmental learning stages of groups and individuals, and provides the mathematical model to analyze those metrics for the study of learning stages during the intervention. We used data from a longitudinal reading remediation study involving 56 Greek-speaking 6-year-old children to demonstrate the framework's utility. Results showed that the framework functions as a new tool to explore the modulation in learning stages during the intervention, better understand how reading occurs, and how reading disability may be adequately treated.
Measuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading diffic... more Measuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading difficulties (RDs), has traditionally involved cognitive tasks that test reaction or response time, which only capture the efficiency at the output processing stage and neglect the internal stages of information processing. However, with eye-tracking methodology, we can reveal the underlying temporal and spatial processes involved in simultaneous processing and investigate whether these processes are equivalent across chronological or reading age groups. This study used eye-tracking to investigate the simultaneous processing abilities of 15 Grade 6 and 15 Grade 3 children with RDs and their chronological-age controls (15 in each Grade). The Grade 3 typical readers were used as reading-level (RL) controls for the Grade 6 RD group. Participants were required to listen to a question and then point to a picture among four competing illustrations demonstrating the spatial relationship raised in the question. Two eye movements (fixations and saccades) were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking system. The results showed that the Grade 3 RD group produced more and longer fixations than their CA controls, indicating that the pattern of eye movements of young children with RD is typically deficient compared to that of their typically developing counterparts when processing verbal and spatial stimuli simultaneously. However, no differences were observed between the Grade 6 groups in eye movement measures. Notably, the Grade 6 RD group outperformed the RL matched Grade 3 group, yielding significantly fewer and shorter fixations. The discussion centers on the role of the eye-tracking method as a reliable means of deciphering the simultaneous cognitive processing involved in learning.
Objective: We explored neural components in Electroencephalography (EEG) signals during a phonolo... more Objective: We explored neural components in Electroencephalography (EEG) signals during a phonological processing task to assess (a) the neural origins of Baddeley’s working-memory components contributing to phonological processing, (b) the unitary structure of phonological processing and (c) the neural differences between children with dyslexia (DYS) and controls (CAC). Methods: EEG data were collected from sixty children (half with dyslexia) while performing the initialand final- phoneme elision task. We explored a novel machine-learning-based approach to identify the neural components in EEG elicited in response to the two conditions and capture differences between DYS and CAC. Results: Our method identifies two sets of phoneme-related neural congruency components capturing neural activations distinguishing DYS and CAC across conditions. Conclusions: Neural congruency components capture the underlying neural mechanisms that drive the relationship between phonological deficits and dyslexia and provide insights into the phonological loop and visual-sketchpad dimensions in Baddeley’s model at the neural level. They also confirm the unitary structure of phonological awareness with EEG data.
Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performanc... more Reading intervention program efficacy is usually determined by comparing participants' performance to controls on dependent measures at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention assessments. However, little is known about how learning progresses during different stages of the intervention. This lack of knowledge can be attributed to the absence of appropriate computational frameworks to encode, analyze, and capture such dynamics. We propose a novel computational framework to capture learning process dynamics during the intervention by analyzing microgenetic data. The framework addresses the problem of encoding microgenetic data into a common data representation model, introduces four information-theoretic metrics to capture the instantaneous developmental learning stages of groups and individuals, and provides the mathematical model to analyze those metrics for the study of learning stages during the intervention. We used data from a longitudinal reading remediation study involving 56 Greek-speaking 6-year-old children to demonstrate the framework's utility. Results showed that the framework functions as a new tool to explore the modulation in learning stages during the intervention, better understand how reading occurs, and how reading disability may be adequately treated.
The Center for Applied Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus,... more The Center for Applied Neuroscience and the Department of Psychology at the University of Cyprus, Cyprus, hosted on May 31 through June 3, 2023, the Final Conference of the 4-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Innovative Training Network (ITN) project on ‘Neurodevelopmental Optimal Predictors Risk Factors and Interventions from a Systems Approach for Maladjustment in Children’, https://neoprismc.org/final-conference/#101. The conference abstracts included in the present article reflect the remarkable work carried out by the 15 ESRs under the guidance of our esteemed consortium colleagues. They also highlight a wide network of collaborations in the specific subject. Neo-PRISM-C studied neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), which emerge early in development and result in long-term disability, compromising the quality of life of millions of Europeans. Through this issue, we celebrate our collective achievements and the knowledge and discoveries we have acquired.
The present study followed a reading-level match design to investigate group differences in eye m... more The present study followed a reading-level match design to investigate group differences in eye movements between grade three and grade six Greek-speaking children with reading difficulties (RD) and controls (chronological age (CA) and reading-level (RL)matched groups), examining their performance on RAN tasks of different modalities (phonological vs. visual) and complexity levels (confounding vs. not-confounding conditions). Three eye movements (fixations, saccades, and regressions) were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking system. The results showed that both grade three and grade six RD groups produced more and longer durations and regressions and more saccades compared to their CA controls in all tasks. However, no differences were observed between the grade six RD and the RL-matched groups in the eyetracking measures. The present findings have important implications for determining the contribution of the reading level match design in eye-tracking reading-related research and exploring the causality of reading difficulties in consistent orthographies.
Objective: Naming speed, behaviorally measured via the serial Rapid automatized naming (RAN) test... more Objective: Naming speed, behaviorally measured via the serial Rapid automatized naming (RAN) test, is one of the most examined underlying cognitive factors of reading development and reading difficulties (RD). However, the unconstrained-reading format of serial RAN has made it challenging for traditional EEG analysis methods to extract neural components for studying the neural underpinnings of naming speed. The present study aims to explore a novel approach to isolate neural components during the serial RAN task that are (a) informative of group differences between children with dyslexia (DYS) and chronological age controls (CAC), (b) improve the power of analysis, and (c) are suitable for deciphering the neural underpinnings of naming speed. Methods: We propose a novel machine-learning-based algorithm that extracts spatiotemporal neural components during serial RAN, termed RAN-related neural-congruency components. We demonstrate our approach on EEG and eye-tracking recordings from 60 children (30 DYS and 30 CAC), under phonologically or visually similar, and dissimilar control tasks. Results: Results reveal significant differences in the RAN-related neural-congruency components between DYS and CAC groups in all four conditions. Conclusion: Rapid automatized naming-related neural-congruency components capture the neural activity of cognitive processes associated with naming speed and are informative of group differences between children with dyslexia and typically developing children.
Significance: We propose the resulting RAN-related neural-components as a methodological framework to facilitate studying the neural underpinnings of naming speed and their association with reading performance and related difficulties.
International Journal for Research in Learning Disabilities, 2023
The Conference at the University of Oviedo, Spain, within the 44th Annual Meeting of the Internat... more The Conference at the University of Oviedo, Spain, within the 44th Annual Meeting of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, was an excellent opportunity to share knowledge, explore perspectives and reflect on the study of neurodevelopmental disorders in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The William M. Cruickshank Memorial Keynote Address, New Directions in the Study of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, covered a broad range of topics relevant to cognition, intelligence, and achievement. It also provided the opportunity to present parts of our current work pertinent to the study of neurodevelopmental dysfunctions and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) ITN Neo-PRISM-C project. The presentation began by focusing on what we study and how and why we study what we study about neurodevelopmental disorders. This was followed by a discussion about the brain and (learning) behaviour, accompanied by some relevant evidence on the neurological basis for reading difficulties, particularly the phonological and visual deficits pathways in the framework of the magnocellular deficit theory. The session concluded with a discussion of the comorbidity of various disorders and the use of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework as an alternative to the traditional diagnostic categories for the study of neurodevelopmental disorders. Examples of how neuroscience research can contribute to this endeavour were also provided.
The present study investigated the differences between children with reading difficulties (RD) an... more The present study investigated the differences between children with reading difficulties (RD) and their controls (CA) (age range = 7.7–12.08 years; Mage = 9.79 years; SD=1.57; Females = 24) on two phonological awareness tasks (phoneme elision and spoonerism), using Event-Related Potentials. EEG data recording elicited the N400 component in both tasks. The results revealed that 8-year-old children with RD produced significantly longer Ν400 than their CA controls in phoneme elision task, suggesting that younger children with RD require more time to process the phonological stimuli than their peers. No differences were observed in N400 components between the 11-year-olds, showing that the RD children outgrow difficulties in phonological awareness tasks due to the consistency of the Greek writing system. The RD and CA groups did not differ in the spoonerism task, probably due to the task’s increased complexity. Discussion centers around the role of Event-Related Potentials in providing valuable information about the phonological mechanisms underpinning reading.
Identifying the neural basis of dyslexia is a fundamental goal of developmental neuroscience. Fi... more Identifying the neural basis of dyslexia is a fundamental goal of developmental neuroscience. Final-phoneme elision (PE) test is a paradigm used for assessing phonological deficit (PD), which is widely considered a causal risk factor for dyslexia. However, the causal relationship between PD to dyslexia has been examined primarily based on behavioral observations. Towards facilitating the exploration of the neurophysiological origins of the theorized link between PD and dyslexia, we set out to isolate differential neural activation patterns in children with dyslexia during PE. Accordingly, we present a machine-learning-based approach to identifying differential brain activity in children with dyslexia and controls during the PE. Our method formulates an optimization problem to extract informative EEG components based on the ‘Neural-congruency hypothesis’, termed Phoneme-related Neural-congruency components. It then uses a machine-learning algorithm to optimally combine the resulting components to differentiate between the neural activity of children with dyslexia and controls. We apply our approach to a real EEG dataset involving children with dyslexia and controls. Our findings demonstrate that our method generates novel insights into the neural underpinnings of dyslexia and the potential neural origins of phonological deficits as a causal factor of dyslexia. Notably, our approach overcomes several methodological challenges in conventional EEG analysis methods; therefore, it could be utilized in studying the neural origins of other behaviorally defined developmental disorders previously overlooked because of such methodological constraints.
Scientific studies of language behavior need to grapple with a large diversity of languages in th... more Scientific studies of language behavior need to grapple with a large diversity of languages in the world and, for reading, a further variability in writing systems. Yet, the ability to form meaningful theories of reading is contingent on the availability of cross-linguistic behavioral data. This paper offers new insights into aspects of reading behavior that are shared and those that vary systematically across languages through an investigation of eye-tracking data from 13 languages recorded during text reading. We begin with reporting a bibliometric analysis of eye-tracking studies showing that the current empirical base is insufficient for cross-linguistic comparisons. We respond to this empirical lacuna by presenting the Multilingual Eye-Movement Corpus (MECO), the product of an international multi-lab collaboration. We examine which behavioral indices differentiate between reading in written languages, and which measures are stable across languages. One of the findings is that readers of different languages vary considerably in their skipping rate (i.e., the likelihood of not fixating on a word even once) and that this variability is explained by cross-linguistic differences in word length distributions. In contrast, if readers do not skip a word, they tend to spend a similar average time viewing it. We outline the implications of these findings for theories of reading. We also describe prospective uses of the publicly available MECO data, and its further development plans.
Research into the second language (L2) reading is an exponentially growing field. Yet, it still h... more Research into the second language (L2) reading is an exponentially growing field. Yet, it still has a relatively short supply of comparable, ecologically valid data from readers representing a variety of first languages (L1). This article addresses this need by presenting a new data resource called MECO L2 (Multilingual Eye Movements Corpus), a rich behavioural eye-tracking record of text reading in English as an L2 among 543 university student speakers of 12 different L1s. MECO L2 includes a test battery of component skills of reading and allows for a comparison of the participants’ reading performance in their L1 and L2. This data resource enables innovative large-scale cross-sample analyses of predictors of L2 reading fluency and comprehension. We first introduce the design and structure of the MECO L2 resource, along with reliability estimates and basic descriptive analyses. Then, we illustrate the utility of MECO L2 by quantifying the contributions of four sources to variability in L2 reading proficiency proposed in prior literature: reading fluency and comprehension in L1, proficiency in L2 component skills of reading, extralinguistic factors, and the L1 of the readers. Major findings included (a) a fundamental contrast between the determinants of L2 reading fluency versus comprehension accuracy, and (b) high within-participant consistency in the real-time strategy of reading in L1 and L2. We conclude by reviewing the implications of these findings to theories of L2 acquisition and outline further directions in which the new data resource may support L2 reading research.
The present study investigated the psychological effect of pandemic
protection measures, particu... more The present study investigated the psychological effect of pandemic protection measures, particularly the possible consequences of confinement measures in children (ages 5-9) and adolescents (ages 10- 18). We developed a bespoke questionnaire whose structure was focused on the individuals' primary and general psychological needs, while there were also exploratory questions about the current emotional state and concern for the future. A sample of 715 participants (336 children and 479 adolescents) from Cyprus and Greece responded to the questionnaire online. Results showed significant age group differences in emotional state aspects and change of daily life, school and distance education. Gender differences were observed in elements of hygiene, sense of security, and everyday life change. In conclusion, both children and adolescents could cope with the challenges the confinement measures brought with them, despite the unprecedented conditions.
The main aim of the present study was to empirically test the emergence of the Simple View of Rea... more The main aim of the present study was to empirically test the emergence of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) in a transparent orthography, and specifically in Greek. To do so, we examined whether the constituent components of the SVR could be identified in young, Greek-speaking children even before the beginning of formal reading instruction. Our investigation focused on Kindergarten children and examined the dissociation of decoding-related and language comprehension skills using Exploratory Factor Analysis. All children ...
European Journal of Psychology of Education , 2021
School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils i... more School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils in classrooms raises significant challenges for teachers, but to date, there are no data from large-scale surveys that compare views within and across European countries. A bespoke questionnaire was designed to examine views of current classroom learning environments with respect to the multilingualism. The questionnaire was piloted and subsequently completed by 2792 teachers across different European countries. Eleven countries provided sufficient data for analyses. Results from structural equation modelling showed that teachers' attitudes could be reliably measured across Europe with the use of carefully devised questionnaire, whose loading and factor structure remained invariant across countries. Teachers' views about multilingualism were most challenged by the numbers of children in their classes, not the percentage of multilingual pupils in the class. Countries differed in how they perceived multilingualism, with their differences leading to distinctive country clusters. Gender and education level (elementary vs. secondary) differences were also observed irrespective of country. These findings enhance our understanding of the role that the characteristics of teachers and their classrooms play in a multilingual setting across diverse European settings. The practical relevance of the results and new opportunities for teacher training are discussed.
Objective: We combined electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking recordings to examine the un... more Objective: We combined electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking recordings to examine the underlying factors elicited during the serial Rapid-Automatized Naming (RAN) task that may differentiate between children with dyslexia (DYS) and chronological age controls (CAC). Methods: Thirty children with DYS and 30 CAC (M age = 9.79 years; age range 7.6 through 12.1 years) performed a set of serial RAN tasks. We extracted fixation-related potentials (FRPs) under phonologically similar (rime-confound) or visually similar (resembling lowercase letters) and dissimilar (non-confounding and discrete uppercase letters, respectively) control tasks. Results: Results revealed significant differences in FRP amplitudes between DYS and CAC groups under the phonologically similar and phonologically non-confounding conditions. No differences were observed in the case of the visual conditions. Moreover, regression analysis showed that the average amplitude of the extracted components significantly predicted RAN performance. Conclusion: FRPs capture neural components during the serial RAN task informative of differences between DYS and CAC and establish a relationship between neurocognitive processes during serial RAN and dyslexia. Significance: We suggest our approach as a methodological model for the concurrent analysis of neurophysiological and eye-gaze data to decipher the role of RAN in reading.
Research on literacy has become universal and is essential for researchers of various disciplines... more Research on literacy has become universal and is essential for researchers of various disciplines, educators, and psychologists. For this article, we examined the most important methodological challenges that arise when conducting literacy research across languages, some of which have long been acknowledged in the relevant literature. Specifically, we focused on challenges related to research on word reading, spelling, passage comprehension, and writing, ranging from the target skills, constructs, and assessment issues to the matching of the samples and measurement and factorial invariance issues. We conclude that although theoretical and applied issues have been addressed in the literature, to date, this has happened only with limited relevance for reading and writing research across languages. The discussion provides some relevant evidence from a neuroscience perspective to promote useful insights and greater methodological rigor in literacy research across languages.
Cognition, Intelligence, and Achievement is motivated by the work of J. P. Das on understanding t... more Cognition, Intelligence, and Achievement is motivated by the work of J. P. Das on understanding the relationships between cognition and intelligence and their effects on school achievement, and especially on the PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive Processing) theory of intelligence and CAS measures (Cognitive Assessment System) of cognitive processes. This book reviews current research using PASS and other frameworks in understanding the relationships among cognition, intelligence, and achievement. The assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and ADHD are addressed, and the interrelationships among cognition, culture, neuropsychology, academic achievement, instruction, and remediation are examined. No other book has presented such an integrated view across these domains, from such a diverse array of internationally known and respected experts from psychology, education, and neuroscience. Academics, researchers, and clinicians who specialize in developmental psychology, educational psychology or clinicians dealing with learning disabilities will find this book very useful for teaching and research purposes.
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Papers by T. C. Papadopoulos
Methods: We propose a novel machine-learning-based algorithm that extracts spatiotemporal neural components during serial RAN, termed RAN-related neural-congruency components. We demonstrate our approach on EEG and eye-tracking recordings from 60 children (30 DYS and 30 CAC), under phonologically or visually similar, and dissimilar control tasks.
Results: Results reveal significant differences in the RAN-related neural-congruency components between DYS and CAC groups in all four conditions.
Conclusion: Rapid automatized naming-related neural-congruency components capture the neural activity of cognitive processes associated with naming speed and are informative of group differences between children with dyslexia and typically developing children.
Significance: We propose the resulting RAN-related neural-components as a methodological framework to facilitate studying the neural underpinnings of naming speed and their association with reading performance and related difficulties.
and dyslexia, we set out to isolate differential neural activation patterns in children with dyslexia during PE. Accordingly, we present a machine-learning-based approach to identifying differential brain activity in children with dyslexia and controls during the PE. Our method formulates an optimization problem to extract informative EEG components based on the ‘Neural-congruency hypothesis’, termed Phoneme-related Neural-congruency components. It then uses a machine-learning algorithm to optimally combine the resulting components to differentiate between
the neural activity of children with dyslexia and controls. We apply our approach to a real EEG dataset involving children with dyslexia and controls. Our findings demonstrate that our method generates novel insights into the neural underpinnings of dyslexia and the potential neural origins of phonological deficits as a causal factor of dyslexia. Notably, our approach overcomes several methodological challenges in conventional EEG analysis methods; therefore, it could be utilized in studying the neural origins of other behaviorally defined developmental disorders previously overlooked because of such methodological constraints.
protection measures, particularly the possible consequences of
confinement measures in children (ages 5-9) and adolescents (ages 10-
18). We developed a bespoke questionnaire whose structure was focused
on the individuals' primary and general psychological needs, while there
were also exploratory questions about the current emotional state and
concern for the future. A sample of 715 participants (336 children and
479 adolescents) from Cyprus and Greece responded to the questionnaire
online. Results showed significant age group differences in emotional
state aspects and change of daily life, school and distance education.
Gender differences were observed in elements of hygiene, sense of
security, and everyday life change. In conclusion, both children and
adolescents could cope with the challenges the confinement measures
brought with them, despite the unprecedented conditions.
Methods: We propose a novel machine-learning-based algorithm that extracts spatiotemporal neural components during serial RAN, termed RAN-related neural-congruency components. We demonstrate our approach on EEG and eye-tracking recordings from 60 children (30 DYS and 30 CAC), under phonologically or visually similar, and dissimilar control tasks.
Results: Results reveal significant differences in the RAN-related neural-congruency components between DYS and CAC groups in all four conditions.
Conclusion: Rapid automatized naming-related neural-congruency components capture the neural activity of cognitive processes associated with naming speed and are informative of group differences between children with dyslexia and typically developing children.
Significance: We propose the resulting RAN-related neural-components as a methodological framework to facilitate studying the neural underpinnings of naming speed and their association with reading performance and related difficulties.
and dyslexia, we set out to isolate differential neural activation patterns in children with dyslexia during PE. Accordingly, we present a machine-learning-based approach to identifying differential brain activity in children with dyslexia and controls during the PE. Our method formulates an optimization problem to extract informative EEG components based on the ‘Neural-congruency hypothesis’, termed Phoneme-related Neural-congruency components. It then uses a machine-learning algorithm to optimally combine the resulting components to differentiate between
the neural activity of children with dyslexia and controls. We apply our approach to a real EEG dataset involving children with dyslexia and controls. Our findings demonstrate that our method generates novel insights into the neural underpinnings of dyslexia and the potential neural origins of phonological deficits as a causal factor of dyslexia. Notably, our approach overcomes several methodological challenges in conventional EEG analysis methods; therefore, it could be utilized in studying the neural origins of other behaviorally defined developmental disorders previously overlooked because of such methodological constraints.
protection measures, particularly the possible consequences of
confinement measures in children (ages 5-9) and adolescents (ages 10-
18). We developed a bespoke questionnaire whose structure was focused
on the individuals' primary and general psychological needs, while there
were also exploratory questions about the current emotional state and
concern for the future. A sample of 715 participants (336 children and
479 adolescents) from Cyprus and Greece responded to the questionnaire
online. Results showed significant age group differences in emotional
state aspects and change of daily life, school and distance education.
Gender differences were observed in elements of hygiene, sense of
security, and everyday life change. In conclusion, both children and
adolescents could cope with the challenges the confinement measures
brought with them, despite the unprecedented conditions.