Classroom noise impairs students' cognition and learning. At a first glance, it seems useful to prevent the negative effects of noise on academic learning by wearing noise-cancelling (NC) headphones during class. The literature and guidelines emphasize the academic benefits of wearing NC headphones (decreased auditory distraction, increased…

Klinefelter (47,XXY) syndrome (KS), the most common form of sex-chromosomal aneuploidy, is characterized by physical, endocrinologic, and reproductive abnormalities. Individuals with KS also exhibit a cognitive/behavioral phenotype characterized by language and language-based learning disabilities and executive and attentional dysfunction in the…

The neuropsychological underpinnings of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Reading Disability (RD) and their comorbidity may be studied usefully with the double dissociation design. The results of studies using the double dissociation method may be linked to the search for an endophenotype of ADHD and RD and their comorbidity.…

Reviews genetic influences on learning disabilities, discussing recent advances in molecular genetics that have made linkage analysis a more powerful tool for studying the genetics of behavioral phenotypes. Also examines what is known about genetic influences in two familial disorders, developmental dyslexia and Tourette syndrome. (Author/NB)

Comprehensively reviews known examples of genetically influenced learning disabilities and speech and language disorders, including familial dyslexia, stuttering, and other speech and language disorders, as well as sex-chromosome anomalies, treated PKU, and minor auto-somal anomalies. (Author/RH)

A theory of the development of anomalous dominance and its biological associations is explained and the literature is reviewed in an attempt to apply this theory to the study of autism. The review supported the increased incidence of left-handedness, learning disabilities, and immune disorders postulated by the theory. (Author/DB)

The authors reviewed recent quantitative genetic research on learning disabilities that led to the conclusion that genetic diagnoses differ from traditional diagnoses in that the effects of relevant genes are largely general rather than specific. This research suggests that most genes associated with common learning disabilities--language…

The column briefly reviews current research and thinking on such topics as a genetic basis for LD (learning disabilities), sleep electroencephalography patterns of hyperactive children, psychological traits of parents of LD children, early intervention for LD students, and external locus of control in LD schools. (CL)

This article provides a brief overview of the various areas of research that have served to clarify the condition of dyslexia. Using topics and content appearing in A. L. Benton and D. Pearl's (1978) text, Dyslexia: An Appraisal of Current Knowledge, as the point of departure, evolution of the definitions of dyslexia is traced to the current and…

This review of the male preponderance in the prevalence of learning disabilities examines such factors as gender-related etiology differences and learning style differences; complications of pregnancy and infancy; effects of male hormones on the nervous system; and sex differences in maturity rates. (JDD)

This article reviews recent research in the field of learning disabilities and, in particular, dyslexia. It summarizes findings from numerous studies employing widely divergent methodologies that have attempted to establish the neurobiological correlates of learning disabilities and concludes that it is impossible to deny a neurobiological basis…

The cognitive profiles of children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF-1) have many similarities to those observed in learning disabilities in the general school population, as well as some distinct features. Approximately 30-65 percent of children with NF-1 have learning disabilities; most commonly, they have language and reading disabilities,…

This review highlights the physical, intellectual, academic, behavioral, and communication characteristics associated with fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of mental retardation. Educationally relevant problems linked to fragile X are noted, including learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, speech and language…

This article offers a historical overview of the neurological aspects of dyslexia (originally seen as related to aphasia) and a review of familial and genetic factors in developmental dyslexia. Psycholinguistic models of dyslexia as they relate to neurological concepts are presented and the evolution of successful remedial methods is summarized.…

The booklet summarizes proceedings from a conference on prenatal and perinatal factors associated with learning disabilities and neurological problems. Many of the papers report data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, a longitudinal study of pregnancy…