Peters Jessica Lee, Bavin Edith Laura, Crewther Sheila Gillard
Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Intergenerational Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2020 Mar 3;14:67. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00067. eCollection 2020.
Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) is a strong predictor of reading aloud, though there is little agreement on what underpins RAN or how it relates to reading. Some theorize phonological skills, while others suggest that RAN reflects the "microcosm" of cognitive and attentional processes also required for reading, with more recent research using eye movements in an attempt to study this relationship. In the current study, we aimed to extend previous investigations to identify whether the temporal patterns of eye movements predict RAN and can, therefore, be established as a method to study the cognitive processes underlying RAN that could then be utilized to elucidate the relationship of RAN to reading. A Gazepoint eye tracker was used to record the eye movements of 93 learner readers aged 5-8 years ( age = 7.00) while performing a custom computerized alphabetic RAN task. Text reading accuracy, comprehension and rate; nonverbal intelligence; and phonological awareness abilities were also assessed. Regression analyses showed that, independently of phonological awareness, eye movements [Fixation Count (FC) and Fixation Duration (FD)] measured during RAN tasks were highly reflective of children's rapid naming performance (92.8%). Both mean FC and mean FD during RAN tasks also predicted text reading accuracy (36.3%), comprehension (31.6%), and rate (36.2%) scores, and in predicting these text reading skills there was a high level of shared variance with RAN performance. In a sub-sample of participants, longer average FDs and counts independently discriminated children with reading difficulties ( = 18; aged 7-9) from neurotypical children matched for age ( = 18), but not from younger neurotypical children matched for reading level ( = 18; aged 5-6). Together, these results suggest that the analysis of eye movements recorded during RAN allows for the operationalization of many of the spatially and temporally-bound cognitive and attentional processes that underpin the RAN, and a step towards elucidating its relationship to reading.
快速自动命名（RAN）是大声朗读的一个有力预测指标，不过对于RAN的内在机制以及它与阅读的关系，人们几乎没有达成共识。一些人认为是语音技能，而另一些人则认为RAN反映了阅读所需的认知和注意力过程的“微观世界”，最近的研究利用眼动来试图研究这种关系。在本研究中，我们旨在扩展先前的调查，以确定眼动的时间模式是否能预测RAN，从而能否将其确立为一种研究RAN潜在认知过程的方法，进而用于阐明RAN与阅读的关系。使用Gazepoint眼动仪记录了93名5至8岁（平均年龄 = 7.00岁）的儿童读者在执行定制的计算机化字母RAN任务时的眼动情况。同时还评估了文本阅读准确性、理解能力和阅读速度；非语言智力；以及语音意识能力。回归分析表明，在不考虑语音意识的情况下，RAN任务期间测量的眼动[注视次数（FC）和注视持续时间（FD）]能高度反映儿童的快速命名表现（92.8%）。RAN任务期间的平均FC和平均FD还预测了文本阅读准确性（36.3%）、理解能力（31.6%）和阅读速度（36.2%）得分，并且在预测这些文本阅读技能时，与RAN表现存在高度的共享方差。在一个参与者子样本中，较长的平均FD和注视次数能独立区分有阅读困难的儿童（n = 18；7至9岁）与年龄匹配的正常儿童（n = 18），但不能区分与阅读水平匹配的较年幼正常儿童（n = 18；5至6岁）。总之，这些结果表明，对RAN任务期间记录的眼动进行分析，可以将许多支撑RAN的时空受限的认知和注意力过程进行操作化，朝着阐明其与阅读的关系迈出了一步。
