Dyslexia, a learning difficulty affecting about 5%-10% of people worldwide, has been a challenge for individuals like Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, and Agatha Christie. Despite its prevalence, the exact causes of dyslexia have remained elusive. However, recent research from Dresden, Germany, offers new insights into this condition.
Researchers have identified changes in a specific brain region associated with dyslexia: the visual thalamus. This part of the brain is crucial for connecting visual information from the eyes to the cerebral cortex, which handles reasoning, memory, and language.
The visual thalamus processes visual data through two distinct parts: one that primarily handles color and another that recognizes movement and rapid changes. The latter, which is particularly tiny—about the size of a peppercorn—has shown significant changes in individuals with dyslexia.
Utilizing a special MRI system at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, researchers have examined the visual thalamus in unprecedented detail. Their study, published in the journal Brain, revealed that people with dyslexia exhibit altered function and structure in the movement-sensitive part of the visual thalamus, especially in males.
This breakthrough offers a deeper understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying dyslexia. “This research opens up new avenues for exploring treatments,” said Katharina von Kriegstein, a study author and chair of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience at TU Dresden.
Christa Müller-Axt, a research associate involved in the study, highlighted the potential for non-invasive neurostimulation techniques as future treatments. “By targeting and modulating the activity of these brain structures, we may alleviate some dyslexia symptoms,” she explained.
Though promising, Müller-Axt cautioned that developing effective and sustainable treatments will take time. The discovery of this new target in the brain provides hope for future therapeutic strategies that could significantly improve the lives of those affected by dyslexia.
