What is it about?
For 40 years, researchers have hunted for genes causing Specific Reading Disability (SRD). We took a deep dive into 175 candidate genes and found something surprising. The main takeaway: Reading is a human invention that's too new for dedicated genes to have evolved. Instead, the genes linked to SRD are incredibly ancient and evolutionarily conserved. They are the same genes involved in fundamental brain development.
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Why is it important?
Our findings suggest SRD isn't a flaw in a "reading program," but rather a disruption of the ancient developmental process. This shift in understanding opens up new pathways for diagnosing and remediating reading difficulties.
Perspectives
I hope this article makes what people might think is a dense, abstract area like genomic architecture and evolutionary biology feel accessible and genuinely fascinating. It is truly fascinating to explain the terrain of human brain abilities on the genomic level—specifically, how our brains manage the complex, modern task of reading.
Alina Fedorova
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Four Decades of Inquiry Into the Genetic Bases of Specific Reading Disability, Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, October 2025, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA),
DOI: 10.1044/2025_jslhr-25-00050.
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