Stroop interference in children with developmental dyslexia: An event-related potentials study

Previous studies have identified inhibitory deficits in dyslexic children, but we have little understanding of their neural mechanisms, especially for Chinese children with developmental dyslexia. We used a double-blind controlled trial to study the electroencephalogram responses of dyslexic and non-dyslexic children when performing the Stroop color-word test. Behavioral data showed differences in response time and accuracy between the 2 groups. In the event-related potentials (ERP) results, dyslexic children displayed larger P2 and P3b on congruent trials, while non-dyslexic children displayed larger P2 and P3b on incongruent trials, the 2 groups showed opposite brain activation patterns on the Stroop test. Dyslexic children have poor inhibitory function, and this poor inhibition may be related to their abnormal brain activation patterns.