ASU Dorsal Steam &
Reading Vision Project
The research conducted at the ALLC's Perceptual Neuroscience Laboratory is concerned with the mechanisms involved with the perceptual aspects of reading and information processing in the lower levels of the visual system. Specifically, we are investigating the relation between processing in the dorsal stream pathway of the human primary visual system and the manner in which this system relates to reading ability in normal readers and the reading disabled.
Moreover, we are exploring a new methodology to measure dorsal stream processing with a recently designed and manufactured device that assesses a person's ability to discern apparent motion. Once completed, we hope to use this new device to target these neural systems and to determine the range of perceptual functions affected by this region of the brain. Additionally, we have created a new assessment tool designed to test a person's ability to decode and organize letters without engaging the brain's linguistic center. This program is currently being tested for use as a diagnostic tool that will determine the level of decoding problems that may exist in poor readers.
It is our hope that these new tools will be useful in assessing reading problems in an adult population, as well as in helping to determine a student's potential for reading problems early in the academic process; thereby allowing the appropriate interventions to be applied before the child falls behind in class.