Phonological Skills Mediate the Association Between Left Beta/Gamma Oscillation and Reading Ability in Chinese Children

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether Chinese children with dyslexia exhibit atypical left-hemispheric beta/gamma oscillatory patterns during nonverbal auditory processing and to examine whether phonological skills mediate the relationship between these oscillations and reading ability. Method: Forty-two Chinese children with dyslexia and 47 typically developing controls underwent electroencephalography recording while listening to amplitude-modulated white noise (1–80 Hz). Event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) was quantified over the left- and right-hemisphere regions of interest. Behavioral assessments measured reading accuracy, phonological awareness, and rapid automatized naming. Results: Compared to controls, children with dyslexia showed significantly reduced left-hemispheric beta/gamma oscillations and altered hemispheric asymmetry. Left-hemispheric ERSP was associated with reading accuracy in the dyslexia group. Mediation analysis confirmed that phonological skills partially mediated the relationship between left-hemispheric oscillations and reading accuracy. Conclusions: The results provide electrophysiological evidence that Chinese children with dyslexia show reduced left-hemispheric beta/gamma responses and altered hemispheric asymmetry during nonverbal auditory processing. They further suggest that variation in left-hemispheric auditory oscillatory responses may be associated with literacy partly through phonological skills. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.34024734