Developmental dyslexia (DD) is associated with an altered functionality of
right-lateralized magnocellular-dorsal (MD) pathway, which would impact the
processing of low spatial/high temporal frequencies stimuli such as global
configurations and motion. Action video-games (AVG) training have been
shown to improve reading skills in children with DD. However, it is not
clear if AVG training can effectively translate into better MD
functionality at the neurophysiological level. In a sample of children with
DD we used electroencephalography (EEG) to study at the neural level the
effects of AVG training, as compared to a non-AVG training. EEG signal was
recorded before (T1) and after (T2) the training sessions, both at rest and
during a coherent dot motion (CDM) task. At T1 and T2 we also measured
reading skills and the efficiency of global perception in a Navon Task. We
found that after AVG training children with DD exhibited: (i) at rest, a
reduced amplitude of upper alpha oscillations (10-12 Hz) in
parieto-occipital electrodes and an increase functional connectivity
between frontal and posterior electrodes in the same frequencies; (ii) a
reduction in the latency of the right-lateralized ERP N2 component, and an
increase in the mean amplitude of the parietal P2 elicited by CDM stimuli.
Alpha amplitude decrements were associated with an increase in phonological
decoding speed and with a more efficient global perception in the Navon
task. Similarly, N2 latency changes were associated with improved global
perception. These psychophysiological findings support an effect of AVG on
MD pathway in DD.