Cortical, Subcortical, and Brainstem Dysfunction: A Correlation in Dyslexic Children

Abstract

A group of dyslexic students was examined by a central auditory test (CAT) battery including competing sentences, binaural fusion, filtered speech, and compressed speech. Auditory evoked brainstem responses (BSER) were measured in conjunction with the CAT data. The auditory tests indicate a high degree of failure in those areas requiring sophisticated integration, coordination, and identification of the modified speech stimuli. The BSER did not identify a significant abnormality. The cortical and subcortical areas of integration are proposed as the multicentric sites of impairment in the hearing function found in dyslexic students.