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Video Games Might Improve Learning Skills in Dyslexia Patients

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Feb 19, 2014 09:55 AM EST

Playing 'action video games' on computer might improve learning skills in those with dyslexia, according to a new research. 

According to the study, video games help dyslexic kids better manage and shift sensory cues. It also helps in improving the skills that dyslexic children lack such as adding new words to vocabulary, problem reciting common nursery rhymes consistent spelling and reading errors and poor recalls. 

"Imagine you are having a conversation with someone when suddenly you hear your name uttered behind you. Your attention shifts from the person you are talking to-the visual-to the sound behind you. This is an example of a cross-sensory shift of attention. We found that shifting attention from visual to auditory stimuli is particularly difficult for people who have dyslexia compared to good readers," said Vanessa Harrar from the Department of Experimental Psychology of the University of Oxford in a press release. 

Prior to the study, it was known that dyslexic people had some challenges related to the auditory processing. In the subsequent researches, it was further clear that multi-sensory integration and dyslexia were linked to the same parts of the brains. 

Harrar along with other researchers, conducted one of the first investigation of how people suffering from dyslexia processed multi-sensory stimuli and came with the findings. 

"We propose that training people with dyslexia to shift attention quickly from visual to auditory stimuli and back-such as with a video game, where attention is constantly shifting focus-might also improve literacy. Action video games have been shown to improve multitasking skills and might also be beneficial in improving the speed with which people with dyslexia shift attention from one task, or sense, to another," researchers added in the press release. 

The study has been published in the journal Current Biology. 

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