Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental brain difference that can make certain aspects of modern life challenging. In the current study, participants had challenges reading and\/or writing, although that is not the case in all people with dyslexia; some find other aspects of verbal processing more challenging than their peers, such as spelling and grammar, or following verbal instructions.<\/p>\n
Related: S<\/strong>everal Psychiatric Disorders Share The Same Root Cause, Study Reveals<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n As with the other neurodivergences, like autism<\/a> or ADHD<\/a>, dyslexia comes with advantages as well<\/a>, such as higher non-verbal creativity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Past twin studies<\/a> have suggested that genes strongly determine dyslexia, so Mountford and colleagues took up the challenge of pinpointing what those genetic associations are.<\/p>\n Their genome-wide study identified 80 regions associated with dyslexia, including 36 regions not previously reported as significant. Thirteen of these regions were novel to science, with no prior link to dyslexia.<\/p>\n Many of the newly associated genes are involved in early brain development. And, as expected, some of them are shared with ADHD<\/a>, which can often occur alongside dyslexia.<\/p>\n In the vast datasets, the researchers also found correlations between dyslexia and measures of chronic pain<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The underlying mechanism remains unelucidated, however, the genetic overlap between pain-related phenotypes and neurodevelopmental traits may hint at a shared biological basis,” Mountford and team write<\/a> in their paper.<\/p>\n With these newly identified gene associations, researchers might finally start unraveling these connections.<\/p>\n![\"child](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ChildHoldingBookOpen-e1758584257151.jpg\")
(Josh Applegate\/Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p>\n