French scientists may have found a breakthrough for people who have dyslexia, as they have claimed that dyslexia is a physiological condition and the cause could be hidden in light-receptor cells in the human eye. If this is correct, this could mean that dyslexia is treatable.
Lack of Asymmetry in Eyes
In a small study, they have found that the cells were arranged in matching patterns in both eyes, which may be the blame for blurring and confusing the brain.
In non-dyslexics, they found that the blue-cone free spot in one eye was round whereas the other eye was unevenly shaped, making one eye more dominant. In dyslexics, both eyes had the same round-shaped spot, which meant that neither eye was dominant.
The researchers, Guy Ropars and Albert le Floch said this lack of asymmetry “might be the biological and anatomical basis of reading and spelling disabilities”.
Possible Treatment
Dyslexia, which is predominantly characterised by a difficulty to read, write and spell, affects 1 in 10 people in the UK. With this new research that indicates that dyslexia could be based on vision – a theory that was believed until the 1950s – it could mean that the condition could be treated.
There has been a discovery of a tiny delay – a magnitude of 10 thousandths of a second – in people with dyslexia that may be able to help erase the challenging mirror image. By using an LED lamp that flashes at speed, the mirror image could be cancelled out.
Tests within a small group have so far shown positive results, which is great news, however further tests are needed to find out its true effectiveness.
At iansyst, we are incredibly excited by this new ground-breaking research, as we understand how dyslexia can affect the individual’s self-confidence and when it’s not treated early on, it can have a lasting effect on school and work performance. We are looking forward to future development and have all fingers crossed to see if this leads to a positive outcome for dyslexics.