Title: Music and dyslexia

Authors: Jose Morais, Aurelie Periot, Pascale Lidji, Regine Kolinsky

Addresses: Unite de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP 191, 50 Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. ' Unite de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP 191, 50 Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. ' Unite de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP 191, 50 Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS – FNRS), 5 Rue d'Egmont, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgium; Stewart Biology Building, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, McGill University, Montreal H3A 1B1, Canada. ' Unite de Recherche en Neurosciences Cognitives, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP 191, 50 Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium; Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS – FNRS), 5 Rue d'Egmont, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

Abstract: Dyslexic readers present deficits in phonological processing, including in the ability to represent and manipulate representations of phonemes consciously and intentionally. An association between such phonological deficits and poor musical skills has been reported in some published work. From this triple association – reading, phonology and music – some authors, referenced in the text, concluded that dyslexia may result from a musical or, more generally, auditory impairment, and some of them suggested that music therapy helps dyslexics to overcome their reading difficulties beyond phonological training. In this article, we attempt to show that, in light of both theoretical reasons and the available evidence, there is no justification either for that causality inference or for the consequent practical recommendation.

Keywords: musical skills; auditory impairment; notes; intervals; reading; dyslexia; phonology; phonemes; syllables; music therapy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJART.2010.032563

International Journal of Arts and Technology, 2010 Vol.3 No.2/3, pp.177 - 194

Published online: 07 Apr 2010 *

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