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Abstract

The doctoral dissertation discusses the mechanisms of the colours’ influence on the reading process and electrophysiological correlates of the reader's condition, considering developmental aspects, graded (level) aspects and gender aspects of tested groups of children and their reading acquisition.
The reading process is one of the most important processes during an individual's maturation. As a complex process, reading involves both cognitive and perceptual abilities. Therefore, we can say that reading skills also affect learning, which depends on a wide range of perceptual and cognitive abilities. In early school-age children, it is not very difficult to determine the reading level. However, it is essential to understand other fundamental emotional and motivational problems caused by specific reading and learning difficulties that could impair overall school achievement (educational outcomes). Reading could also be reflected through the psychophysiological state of the child as a process involving sensory integration, attention, and memory. These basic neural and physiological reading processes can be measured by various BioSignal modes such as electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and eye movement.
Numerous studies have examined how coloured backgrounds and overlays can improve the reading process, especially in children with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. It is important to note that colours in the human body elicit an emotional response that physiological parameters can also measure. These parameters are needed to understand better the impact of colours on reading performance and how colours can improve reading.
With the dissertation, we wanted to explore, understand and present the relationships between physiological parameters and colour changes of text and background during reading in the context of developmental and various reading disorders (such as dyslexia) in children, which could confirm or refute the hypotheses we set at the beginning of the research.
In three experimental and correlation studies, we evaluated differences in electroencephalography (EEG), heart rate variability (VSU), electrodermal activity (EDA), and eye movement (oculomotor activity) during reading in thirteen different combinations of the text backgrounds and overlays. We used the same design attempt with different combinations of background colours and methodology in all three studies.
The first study results represent the context of developmental differences in reading in children with twenty-six participants (thirteen from the second and thirteen from the third grade of primary school). The second study demonstrates better reading skills from a gender perspective with fifty children (twenty-five girls and twenty-five boys), and the third study demonstrates a correlation of better reading of children with dyslexia relative to particular colour background. The experiment was performed with thirty-six participants (eighteen with dyslexia, eighteen with control groups).
Based on the results of studies and confirmation of seven hypotheses, we can conclude that colour overlays and colour background allowing a better understanding of various aspects of the reading process and improving its skills.