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Our understanding of Dyslexia has been greatly assisted with recent research, but we are still a ways away from truly identifying its cause. In order to perform research, there must be volunteers. New England Dyslexia Solutions has offered to post the following upcoming research studies in hopes of spreading the word about this important research currently being done on the subject of Dyslexia.

MIT - Dr. John Gabrieli

Brain Study

MIT is seeking children ages 4-7 years old (with or without language delays) to participate in a fun and interactive brain study!

If your child does have a language delay, MIT researchers will examine your child's language abilities and play fun computer games with your child. Then they will examine how your child's brain responds to language using MRI. MRI is a large magnet that records brain activity. MRI is absolutely safe for children, and can be a fun learning experience for children and their families! Download more information here

Visit http://web.mit.edu/gabrieli-lab/kid.htm or contact Dr. Ioulia Kovelman ioulia@mit.edu and/or Tyler Perrachione tkp@mit.edu at 617-258-8221.

Adult Language Study

The Gabrieli lab at MIT is currently conducting new research on reading and reading difficulties. They are looking for adults (ages 18-60) with and without reading difficulties. The study involves approximately 2 hours of psycho-educational testing, and if you qualify, 2 hours of MRI scanning...and you get pictures of your brain to take home!

Individuals with a previous diagnosis of dyslexia are especially welcome, but all types of readers are needed!

Participants will be compensated $20/hr for the psycho-educational testing session and $30/hr for the scanning session.

Please contact us at gablabstudy@gmail.com. Download more information on the Adult Language Study.

Gaab Laboratory (Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical)

Please contact Dr. Nadine Gaab directly at gaablab@gmail.com or 857-218-3022 if you are interested in participating.

Ongoing Research Studies at the Gaab Laboratory, Children's Hospital Boston

Boston Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia

This study will help to clarify how the brains of children who are pre-readers (ages 4 to 6), with and without a family history of developmental dyslexia, develop. This research aims to allow for the early prediction of this common learning disability that affects 5-17% of children. Early prediction translates to more effective intervention, resulting in the easing of the clinical, psychological, and social difficulties that are often associated with dyslexia. We will follow our participants for four years and collect both behavioral and neuroimaging information.

The participant will be asked to come in for a total of two 2-hour sessions:

Session 1: The child's reading, language, and cognitive abilities will be measured using psychometric assessments. A comprehensive report will be provided to participants.

Session 2: The child will engage in a variety of cognitive tasks, which are presented in a child-friendly and playful way, while the scanner collects images of his or her brain using a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Infant Study

Researchers have shown that the brains of children and adults diagnosed with dyslexia are organized differently than those of other people the same age, and have also provided evidence that susceptibility to dyslexia may run in families.

This study is investigating whether these differences can be observed in the brains of infants with a family history of dyslexia. A family history means that you have a parent or sibling who has been diagnosed with developmental dyslexia by a doctor or psychologist. We would like to learn what age brain differences first begin to appear in people who are at risk for dyslexia, and whether they can be used to identify children at risk in infancy. The goal of this study is to provide new information to help us learn to diagnose dyslexia in infancy, which could help us develop more effective prevention and treatment strategies for susceptible infants before they go through certain crucial stages of brain development in the first two years of life.

To reach this goal, we will compare the brain images of infants with and without a family history of developmental dyslexia using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRI is a safe and completely non-invasive method that we use to take pictures of the brain. We will utilize age-specific behavioral techniques and innovative MRI technology in order to safely acquire these brain images without using any sedation or anesthesia. Although sedation or anesthesia is commonly used with infants who need an MRI exam for clinical reasons, we hope that this study will promote the use of the techniques that we have developed so that other hospitals and research institutions can also learn to carry out infant MRI without using sedation or anesthesia. We believe that this will ultimately make clinical exams much safer and more cost-effective for patients and their families, as well as hospitals.

For more information on these studies and how to participate, visit http://www.childrenshospital.org/research/gaablab or contact Dr. Nadine Gaab at gaablab@gmail.com or 857-218-3022.

See Dr. Nadine Gaab in an interview on NBC Nightly News...