Developmental dyslexia essential for adaptive success in humans-ScienceDaily

They believe that this “exploratory bias” has an evolutionary foundation and plays an important role in our survival.

Based on these findings, which were apparent across multiple domains at all levels of analysis, from visual processing to memory, researchers argue that the view of dyslexia as a neurological disorder needs to change.

Findings reported today in the journal Psychology Frontier, Dr. Helen Taylor, an affiliated scholar at the McDonald Institute for Archeology at the University of Cambridge and a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, said it affects both the individual and social levels.

“The deficit-centric view of dyslexia does not give the big picture,” Taylor said. “This study proposes a new framework to help people with dyslexia better understand cognition.”

She added: “We believe that the difficult areas experienced by people with dyslexia are due to the cognitive trade-offs between exploring new information and leveraging existing knowledge. The benefits are enhanced as observed in certain areas. It’s an exploratory bias that can explain your abilities, like discovery, invention, and creativity. “

This is the first time an evolutionary interdisciplinary approach has been applied to the analysis of dyslexia research.

“Schools, academic institutions and workplaces are not designed to make the most of exploratory learning, but we can begin to develop this mindset so that humanity can continue to adapt and solve key challenges. It’s an urgent task, “says Taylor.

Dyslexia is found in up to 20% of the general population, regardless of country, culture or region of the world. It is defined by the World Neurology Federation as “a disability for children who, despite their traditional classroom experience, are unable to acquire reading, writing, and spelling language skills commensurate with their intellectual abilities.”

New discoveries are explained in the context of “complementary recognition.” This is a theory that proposes that our ancestors have evolved to specialize in different but complementary ideas that enhance the ability of humans to adapt through collaboration.

These cognitive disciplines are rooted in the well-known trade-off between exploring new information and leveraging existing knowledge. For example, if you eat all the food you have, you run the risk of starvation when it’s all gone. But if you spend all your time looking for food, you’re wasting energy that you don’t need to waste. As with any complex system, you need to leverage known resources and balance the need to explore new resources to survive.

“The balance between looking for new opportunities and leveraging the benefits of a particular choice is the key to adaptation and survival and underpins many of the decisions we make in our daily lives,” says Taylor. I did.

Exploration includes activities that include exploring the unknown, such as experimentation, discovery, and innovation. In contrast, abuse involves using what is already known, such as improvement, efficiency, and choice.

“Given this trade-off, exploratory specialization for people with dyslexia may help explain why problems with exploitation-related tasks such as reading and writing are problematic.

“I can also explain why people with dyslexia appear to be drawn to specific professions that require exploration-related abilities such as arts, architecture, engineering, and entrepreneurship.”

Researchers have found that their findings are consistent with evidence from several other areas of research. For example, such an exploratory bias in most of the population indicates that our species must have evolved during periods of high uncertainty and change. This is consistent with discoveries in the field of archeology, revealing that dramatic climate and environmental instability have shaped human evolution for hundreds of thousands of years.

Researchers emphasize that cooperation between individuals with different abilities can help explain the extraordinary ability of our species to adapt.

The findings were published in the journal today and Psychology frontier.

This study was funded by the Hunter Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Strathclyde.