W3 – Neuroscience in the 21st Century: Where are we going?
Symposium Chair: Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D., IDA Board Member, IDA Past-President, and
Executive Director of the Newgrange School and Education Center, Princeton, N.J.
In addition to reviewing exciting new brain research, this session grapples with challenging questions such as: What are the new frontiers in neuroscience? How might 21st century neuroscience further inform our understanding of dyslexia and the knowledge base needed for skilled reading instruction? Is the 21st century brain so different that our schools will have to be transformed?
Welcome & Introduction 8:30 – 8:40 a.m.
Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D.
Neuroscience in the 21st Century: Where are we going? 8:40 – 9:40 a.m.
Gordon F. Sherman, Ph.D.
Dyslexia is not a product of a dysfunctional brain, but is an example of learning diversity that excels in the real world. Unfortunately, a dysfunctional education system often awaits those who learn differently. My goal in this talk is to describe the value of cerebrodiversity (our species’ collective neural heterogeneity), of which dyslexia is a byproduct, and to challenge conventional assumptions about socially and culturally defined disabilities. I seek to encourage those who struggle with dyslexia, provide a context for understanding dyslexia’s enigmas, and to explore solutions for success.
Education Panel Questions 9:40 – 9:45 a.m.
The neurodevelopmental paradox of the twice exceptional dyslexic: 9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Implications for neuroscience, treatment and child development
Jeffrey Gilger, Ph.D., University of California, Psychological Sciences, SSHA
How can neurodevelopment lead to gifts and disabilities in the same individual? What sense can we make of the diffusely atypical dyslexic brain? While grand claims have sometimes been made about the preponderance of “gifts” in dyslexics individuals, there is little reliable empirical data on the phenomenon. This project addresses the epidemiology and neuroscience of spatially gifted dyslexics, and how some of them may process dynamic spatial information differently than their peers. Data based research results and theory will be presented on the etiology and expression of the gifted dyslexic brain, with a futuristic look at implications for treatment and the effects of the environment on child development.
Education Panel Questions 10:45 – 10:50 a.m.
How Cognitive Neuroscience May Contribute to Helping People With Dyslexia 10:50 – 11:50 a.m.
John D. E. Gabrielli, Ph.D., Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Over the past decade, neuroimaging studies have revealed differences in brain structure and function between individuals who do (dyslexia) or do not have difficulty in reading, and also structural and functional plasticity associated with effective intervention programs. Now, a key question is whether such neuroscience knowledge can be used to help individuals with dyslexia. I will discuss some research directions that may address this question, including the use of brain measures to predict the trajectory of reading difficulty (successful compensation versus persistent difficulty), to support appropriate diagnostic criteria (such as the use or misuse of discrepancy criteria for diagnosis), and to identify children at risk for reading failure prior to reading instruction (and thus justify early intervention).
Education Panel Questions 11:50 – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch Break 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
The Contribution of Neuroscience to the Future of Dyslexia 1:00 – 2:00p.m.
Albert M. Galaburda, M.D., Emily Fisher Landau Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
There are several ways by which neuroscience will contribute to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia. There is a great deal of information already present, but in order to make this information truly transitional, focused research still needs to be done. The most promising results come, as one might guess from evidence of success in other conditions, from cell and molecular biology, including genetics, and from brain anatomy and function through imaging.
Education Panel Questions 2:00 – 2:05 p.m.
Cognitive Advantages of Dyslexia 2:05 – 3:05 p.m.
Brock L. Eide, M.D., M.A. & Fernette Eide, M.D., Physicians and Authors of The Dyslexic Advantage. Founders and Owners of Eide Neurolearning Clinic and Neurolearning.com, Seatlle, WA
Dyslexic difficulties with reading, spelling, writing, and other basic academic skills have typically been viewed solely from a learning disabilities perspective. But a wealth of new research shows that dyslexic individuals process not only printed but all types of information differently from non-dyslexics, and that the true significance of these differences isn't the challenges they produce in basic academic and other fine-detail skills, but the strengths they create in many types of "big picture" or gestalt reasoning skills--strengths that in turn lead to enhanced abilities in tasks that require creativity, problem-solving, and new approaches. This talk, which is appropriate for both professional and non-professional audiences, will review this information, and will discuss ways to understand, foster, and take advantage of unique dyslexic strengths.
Education Panel Questions 3:05 – 3:10 p.m.
Break 3:10 – 3:20 p.m.
Brain Imaging Studies of Reading 3:20 – 4:20 p.m.
Guinevere F. Eden, Ph.D., Immediate Past President of IDA, Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Director, Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University
Reading is a cultural invention and reading has to be learned through explicit instructions, resulting in the recruitment and utilization of a variety of brain areas that were not designed to read specifically. For example, it has been proposed that neurons typically utilized for other tasks such as object perception, are “recycled” into the process of reading following a protracted period of learning. This presentation will describe the neural basis of reading, how it differs in people with dyslexia, and how brain imaging technology can help to elucidate how reading interventions may be successful in dyslexic readers. The presentation will provide a neuroscientific perspective on reading as a uniquely human skill and how the brain has to “adjust” for reading in the 21st century.
Education Panel Questions 4:20 – 4:30 p.m.
Education Question Panel
Carolyn D. Cowen, Ed.M., Executive Director, Carroll School Center for Innovative Education
Earl Oremus, Ed.M., Headmaster, Marburn Academy and President at Learning Disabilities Network
|
