The role of visuo-spatial attention in non-word reading

Phonological decoding is a critical index for successful reading acquisition and it requires not only appropriate phonological skills but also a precise graphemic parsing process (segmentation of a letter string into graphemes). Visuo-spatial attention has been linked to graphemic parsing in developmental dyslexia (Facoetti et al, 2006 Cognitive Neuropsychology 23 841 - 855) and it is endorsed by the CDP+ computational model of reading aloud (Perry et al, 2007 Psychological Review in press). We investigated this issue in thirty skilled adult readers by collecting measures of visuo-spatial attention, phonological skills, and reading performance. Regression analyses showed that visuo-spatial attention accounts for a significant variance in non-word reading fluency even after controlling for individual differences in phonological skills. Faster nonword readers showed a larger Navon interference and a smaller negative priming effect in comparison to slower non-word readers that can be accounted for by a smaller and more efficient attentional focus in the former. The present findings indicate that visuo-spatial attention can be specifically linked to the graphemic parsing process.