Word: merzenich
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...remarkable plasticity of the brain has put scientists in hot pursuit of novel ways to treat a host of ailments. "What we are is a product of learning progressions in the brain," says Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, and a co-founder of Scientific Learning. "A lot of people are thinking about how to use intensive training to remediate the impairments of mankind...
...this analysis is correct, then the possibilities for intervening early in a child's life multiply. "Wouldn't it be wonderful," asks Merzenich, in a burst of enthusiasm, "if we could treat dyslexia before a child started trying to read?" Or better still, before a child started trying to talk. Tallal and Merzenich go so far as to suggest that some forms of language impairment could turn out to be more correctable than poor hearing or poor eyesight. They point out that the earphones that transmit the exaggerated speech sounds to children's ears in the lab are only temporary...
Perhaps. But, until Tallal and Merzenich know for certain, they may be giving more hope than is justified. Ever since the Science articles appeared in early January, thousands of desperate parents have flooded the Rutgers and University of California switchboards with calls, asking when the new therapy will be offered by local schools. To handle the overload, the researchers have set up an 800 number...
...very small research project. Whether the same approach will prove valuable, or even marginally useful, for the estimated 10 million dyslexic children in the U.S. remains an open question, and parents would be unwise to harbor unrealistic hopes. About one thing, however, there is no doubt. Tallal and Merzenich have made a difference in the lives of at least a few children. Keillan, the girl who hated kindergarten, is now 6 years old. She adores first grade. She runs to school smiling. And, with just a little difficulty, she is learning to read...