Although there is a vast research literature on learning disabilities (LD), experts cannot agree on answers to the questions asked most frequently by parents and teachers, namely, does the child have a learning disability and, if so, what is the problem and what can be done about it. A fundamental premise of the proposed Center is that LD is a disorder of neurodevelopment, not a disorder of specific skill acquisition. Questions to be addressed by the research program are: what neurodevelopmental characteristics can reliably distinguish LD children from non-LD children and what characteristics distinguish these children from one another. The central hypothesis to be tested is that rapid processing of temporal information is specifically disordered in LD children. We will evaluate various aspects of low-level information processing by means of coordinated studies of auditory, visual and motor behavioral paradigms, quantitative EEG and functional MRI in order to elucidate the fundamental """"""""building blocks"""""""" of central nervous system function that are associated with LD. These will be examined in relation to the higher order features of cognition, academic performance, and social adaptation that are of greatest clinical concern. The Center comprises three Cores (Administrative, Neurobehavioral Assessment, and Human Subjects and Data Management/Biostatistics) and five projects. ,All are focussed on a single cohort of LD children, and each addresses a different level of neurobehavioral analysis. The study sample will include LD children between the ages of 8 and 11 years (N = 200) and a standardization sample of same age children (N=200). Goals of the program include (1) to determine to what extent LD children can be differentiated from a normative sample by characteristics of their low level information processing; (2) to evaluate the reliability and validity of low level information processing """"""""signatures"""""""" of LD; (3) to define the neural """"""""building blocks"""""""" that are associated with LD. It is anticipated that a more thorough understanding of these """"""""building blocks"""""""" will provide a basis for novel approaches to the treatment of this disorder.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Specialized Center (P50)
Project #
5P50HD033803-03
Application #
2609131
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (SRC (LD))
Project Start
1996-03-12
Project End
2000-11-30
Budget Start
1997-12-01
Budget End
1998-11-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Children's Hospital Boston
Department
Type
DUNS #
076593722
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Waber, Deborah P; Forbes, Peter W; Wolff, Peter H et al. (2004) Neurodevelopmental characteristics of children with learning impairments classified according to the double-deficit hypothesis. J Learn Disabil 37:451-61
Rivkin, Michael J; Vajapeyam, Sridhar; Hutton, Chloe et al. (2003) A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of paced finger tapping in children. Pediatr Neurol 28:89-95
Waber, Deborah P; Marcus, David J; Forbes, Peter W et al. (2003) Motor sequence learning and reading ability: is poor reading associated with sequencing deficits? J Exp Child Psychol 84:338-54
Weiler, Michael David; Forbes, Peter; Kirkwood, Michael et al. (2003) The developmental course of processing speed in children with and without learning disabilities. J Exp Child Psychol 85:178-94
Peters, Jurriaan M; Waber, Deborah P; McAnulty, Gloria B et al. (2003) Event-related correlations in learning impaired children during A hybrid go/no-go choice reaction visual-motor task. Clin Electroencephalogr 34:99-109
Waber, Deborah P; Weiler, Michael D; Forbes, Peter W et al. (2003) Neurobehavioral factors associated with referral for learning problems in a community sample: evidence for an adaptational model for learning disorders. J Learn Disabil 36:467-83
Weiler, Michael David; Bernstein, Jane Holmes; Bellinger, David et al. (2002) Information processing deficits in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type, and children with reading disability. J Learn Disabil 35:448-61
Kirkwood, M W; Weiler, M D; Bernstein, J H et al. (2001) Sources of poor performance on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test among children with learning difficulties: a dynamic assessment approach. Clin Neuropsychol 15:345-56
Duffy, F H; Valencia, I; McAnulty, G B et al. (2001) Auditory evoked response data reduction by PCA: development of variables sensitive to reading disability. Clin Electroencephalogr 32:168-78
Valencia, I; McAnulty, G B; Waber, D P et al. (2001) Auditory evoked responses to similar words with phonemic difference: comparison between children with good and poor reading scores. Clin Electroencephalogr 32:160-7

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