Abstract:  Considering basic visual decoding is the first step of reading, a growing group of studies focused on the visual-spatial attentional processing of the dyslexics. Visual-spatial attention refers to attentional processes that select visual stimuli based on their spatial location, and it can be measured by a set of visual tasks, such as visual search task, visual attention span task, Posner cue task. Many studies in the context of alphabetic language and Chinese reported that individuals with developmental dyslexia may exhibit poor behavioral performance and abnormal neural activity in visual-spatial attention tasks. The underlying mechanism of the relevant neural deficit may not only stem from the atypical activation in the parietal gyrus which were responsible for the visual-spatial attention, but also might be associated with weak functional connectivity between brain regions (e.g., the functional connectivity between parietal lobe and visual word form area). Future studies should explore the development in visual-spatial attention of the dyslexics by cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Meanwhile, it is necessary to investigate the possible modulation of language characteristics on visual-spatial attention deficit of dyslexia.

Key words: developmental dyslexia, visual-spatial attention, neural mechanism, language characteristics