Repetition priming in oral text reading: A therapeutic strategy for phonologic text alexia

Abstract

Background: Phonologic text alexia (PhTA) is a reading disorder in which reading of pseudowords is impaired, but reading of real words is impaired only when reading text. Oral reading accuracy remains well preserved when words are presented individually, but when presented in text the part‐of‐speech effect that is often seen in phonologic alexia (PhA) emerges.

Aims: To determine whether repetition priming could strengthen and/or maintain the activation of words during text reading.

Methods & Procedures: We trained NYR, a patient with PhTA, to use a strategy, sentence building, designed to improve accuracy of reading words in text. The strategy required NYR to first read the initial word, and then build up the sentence by adding on sequential words, in a step‐wise manner, utilising the benefits of repetition priming to enhance accuracy.

Outcomes & Results: When using the strategy, NYR displayed improved accuracy not only for sentences she practised using the strategy, but unpractised sentences as well. Additionally, NYR performed better on a test of comprehension when using the strategy, as compared to without the strategy.

Conclusions: In light of research linking repetition priming to increased neural processing efficiency, our results suggest that use of this compensatory strategy improves reading accuracy and comprehension by temporarily boosting phonologic activation levels.

Notes

The first and second authors contributed equally to this paper. This study was supported by NICHD grant # HD036019 to the last author. Anne Sperling contributed to this research as part of a postdoctoral fellowship at Georgetown University Medical Center. No official support or endorsement by the National Institute of Mental Health is intended or should be inferred.

We thank NYR for her time, patience, and cheerful disposition throughout treatment, Annalisa Young for assistance in constructing the sentences, and Ashley Bartell for assistance with the comprehension test.

1. These stimuli were chosen for analysis because they were read via proficient use of the sentence‐building strategy and they did not receive any other priming that day.