The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the neurobiological processes, particularly the dopaminergic processes, underlying attentional control during reading and reading comprehension... Show moreThe aim of the present study was to gain insight into the neurobiological processes, particularly the dopaminergic processes, underlying attentional control during reading and reading comprehension. In order to test the effects of increased levels of dopamine (DA) in the brain, female university students (N = 80), half of them being carriers of the DRD4-7R allele and half of them not, participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled within-subjects experiment in which they were orally administered levodopa or a placebo before reading a text. After reading the text, participants reported on their attentional control during reading and completed comprehension questions. Pharmacologically increasing DA levels in the brain negatively influenced reading comprehension. This effect was moderate (ηp2 = .13). No interaction effects of condition and DRD4 genotype were found, for either attentional control or reading comprehension. Exploratory analyses showed that increased DA levels in the brain positively influenced fluctuations in attentional control, but only in a group of slow readers. No effects of increased DA were found for the two other attentional control measures used in the present study and no effects of increased DA on attentional control were found for fast readers. Results are discussed from the perspective of the inverted U-shape theory and the possible dopamine-related mechanisms. Show less
Reading comprehension is a multifaceted skillset important to acquire in order to participate in modern society; to learn at school, for work related communication, for social digitized... Show moreReading comprehension is a multifaceted skillset important to acquire in order to participate in modern society; to learn at school, for work related communication, for social digitized interactions, and to keep up to date with news. Important developmental change in this skillset occurs between the ages of 9 and 12, when elementary school children go from learning to read to reading to learn. In this phase educators start expecting the children to use their reading comprehension skillset to gather knowledge about many different topics. This knowledge helps children in understanding their current surroundings as well as prepares them for future possibilities of employment. However, children are of course not alone on their journey to become proficient readers. A great deal of research and educational resources are mobilized to help them on their way. With this doctoral dissertation I aim to enlarge the scientific knowledge of reading comprehension and aid educational practitioners who ground their pedagogical work in scientific literature. This gathering of four empirical papers presents research from a cognitive scientific perspective on three elements that are important to understand reading comprehension in children: the reader, the text, and the task. Show less
