Testing the dyslexic rhythm deficit in Italian: evidence from sensorimotor synchronization with connected speech.
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| Title: | Testing the dyslexic rhythm deficit in Italian: evidence from sensorimotor synchronization with connected speech. |
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| Authors: | Rossi, Marina1 (AUTHOR) marina.rossi@uni-konstanz.de, Smit, Eline A.1 (AUTHOR), Rathcke, Tamara1 (AUTHOR) tamara.rathcke@uni-konstanz.de |
| Source: | Reading & Writing. Apr2026, Vol. 39 Issue 4, p1381-1403. 23p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Dyslexia, *Motor ability, Rhythm, Prosodic analysis (Linguistics), Speech, Italian language |
| Abstract: | Listeners with developmental dyslexia have been suggested to show a rhythm processing deficit, though previous evidence is limited to metacognitive tasks and simple, non-naturalistic materials. The present study was conducted to address the dyslexic rhythm deficit in Italian, a language that uses acoustic-prosodic cues (such as duration and pitch) for encoding a range of linguistic functions. Seventy Italian adolescents were recruited to take part in a sensorimotor synchronization study requiring participants to tap the finger of their dominant hand in time with the beat of natural sentences spoken in their native language. In addition, they tapped the finger at their comfortable tempo spontaneously, without an external prompt. Forty dyslexic and 30 typically developing volunteers performed the task. The results showed that all participants synchronized with vowel onsets at the syllable rate and did not indicate a rhythm deficit among the dyslexic Italian adolescents. Rather, sensorimotor synchronization rates with natural connected speech were best predicted by participants' spontaneous motor tempo. Participants with a slower tempo were better able to maintain their synchronization over longer timescales. These findings highlight the need for cross-linguistic research with varying methodologies to establish generalizability of clinical profiles and are discussed with reference to cognitive accounts of developmental dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 193563709 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Testing the dyslexic rhythm deficit in Italian: evidence from sensorimotor synchronization with connected speech. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rossi%2C+Marina%22">Rossi, Marina</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> marina.rossi@uni-konstanz.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Smit%2C+Eline+A%2E%22">Smit, Eline A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rathcke%2C+Tamara%22">Rathcke, Tamara</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> tamara.rathcke@uni-konstanz.de</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+%26+Writing%22">Reading & Writing</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 39 Issue 4, p1381-1403. 23p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dyslexia%22">Dyslexia</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motor+ability%22">Motor ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rhythm%22">Rhythm</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prosodic+analysis+%28Linguistics%29%22">Prosodic analysis (Linguistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech%22">Speech</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Italian+language%22">Italian language</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Listeners with developmental dyslexia have been suggested to show a rhythm processing deficit, though previous evidence is limited to metacognitive tasks and simple, non-naturalistic materials. The present study was conducted to address the dyslexic rhythm deficit in Italian, a language that uses acoustic-prosodic cues (such as duration and pitch) for encoding a range of linguistic functions. Seventy Italian adolescents were recruited to take part in a sensorimotor synchronization study requiring participants to tap the finger of their dominant hand in time with the beat of natural sentences spoken in their native language. In addition, they tapped the finger at their comfortable tempo spontaneously, without an external prompt. Forty dyslexic and 30 typically developing volunteers performed the task. The results showed that all participants synchronized with vowel onsets at the syllable rate and did not indicate a rhythm deficit among the dyslexic Italian adolescents. Rather, sensorimotor synchronization rates with natural connected speech were best predicted by participants' spontaneous motor tempo. Participants with a slower tempo were better able to maintain their synchronization over longer timescales. These findings highlight the need for cross-linguistic research with varying methodologies to establish generalizability of clinical profiles and are discussed with reference to cognitive accounts of developmental dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11145-025-10656-6 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 23 StartPage: 1381 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Dyslexia Type: general – SubjectFull: Motor ability Type: general – SubjectFull: Rhythm Type: general – SubjectFull: Prosodic analysis (Linguistics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Speech Type: general – SubjectFull: Italian language Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Testing the dyslexic rhythm deficit in Italian: evidence from sensorimotor synchronization with connected speech. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rossi, Marina – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Smit, Eline A. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rathcke, Tamara IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09224777 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 39 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: Reading & Writing Type: main |
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