Research: Single gene plays key role in dyslexia

LOS ANGELES TIMES
Researchers have identified a single gene alteration that may be a significant cause of dyslexia, a disorder that impairs the ability to read and comprehend written words.
Dr. Jeffrey R. Gruen, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine, said an analysis of DNA from 153 families showed that a gene known as DCDC2 may be responsible for up to 20 percent of dyslexia cases.
Researchers have associated DCDC2 with dyslexia since 1994, but Dr. Gruen said his research is the first to assign it such a key role.
Using neural imaging, Dr. Gruen's team found that a mutated version of the gene -- with a large deleted sequence -- disrupted the way the dyslexics' brains sent and received impulses from the retina to the visual cortex.
Speaking Friday at a meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Salt Lake City, Dr. Gruen said he altered the corresponding gene in rats and was able to disrupt the formation of the same brain circuits that impair reading ability in humans.