DyslexiaNCT07707700
Validating a Neurocognitive Remediation Model for Visual-Attentional Pathway in Chinese Developmental Dyslexia
A study testing Action video game intervention group in people with Dyslexia, run by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University at 1 site in Hong Kong.
Trial summary
Developmental dyslexia is a common and serious specific learning disability affecting up to one in eight children in Hong Kong, with profound consequences for academic success and personal well-being. For children learning to read the visually complex Chinese script, the challenge is particularly intense. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 7 to 10 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Dyslexia
- What is being tested?
- Action video game intervention group
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 76 participants
- Where
- 1 siteHong Kong
- Study dates
- 1 Jan 2026to 31 Dec 2029
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 7 to 10 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Formal diagnosis of dyslexia by an educational or clinical psychologist using the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing (HKT-SpLD),39 with a literacy composite score at or below the 10th percentile.
- Non-verbal IQ score ≥ 85 on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices.
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision (both eyes logMAR 0.1 or better).
Who cannot join
- History of neurological or psychiatric disorders (e.g., epilepsy, psychosis).
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Hong Kong1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Optometry Research Clinic
Hong Kong
Tsz Wing Leung, PhD, +852 27664268, jeffrey.TW.leung@polyu.edu.hk
About this study
Official title: Testing the Visual-Attentional Pathway in Chinese Developmental Dyslexia: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Validate a Neurocognitive Cascade Model of Remediation
Developmental dyslexia is a common and serious specific learning disability affecting up to one in eight children in Hong Kong, with profound consequences for academic success and personal well-being. For children learning to read the visually complex Chinese script, the challenge is particularly intense. A key research challenge is a long-standing "chicken-and-egg" debate: are weaknesses in the brain's fast-processing visual system (Magnocellular-Dorsal deficits) a cause of reading difficulties, or merely a consequence of limited reading practice? This uncertainty has constrained theoretical progress, creating a major barrier to developing effective, evidence-based support for struggling readers beyond traditional linguistic-based methods.
This project is designed to resolve this debate by directly testing if training a core visual-attentional skill can causally improve reading. The approach is built on investigator's strong pilot data, which established a novel "Neurocognitive Cascade Model": a framework suggesting that the integrity of foundational visual processing impacts reading through a sequential chain reaction flowing from visual attention to working memory.
Read more
To test the model, investigators will employ a rigorous, assessor-blind randomized controlled trial with 100 Cantonese-speaking children with developmental dyslexia. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group that plays action video games, scientifically proven to enhance visual attention, or an active control group that plays a different type of non-action, engaging game. This design allows investigators to isolate the specific impact of the visual-attentional training. The investigators will track changes at four time points-before, during, immediately after the intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up-using a multi-level assessment battery, including objective neural signals of visual processing, cognitive skills, and real-world reading performance measured with advanced eye-tracking technology.
This research will deliver new knowledge that is both scientifically and socially impactful. It will provide the first causal evidence for a visual-attentional pathway to reading remediation in Chinese developmental dyslexia, fundamentally shifting theoretical understanding of the disorder from a single, phonological deficit to a more comprehensive, multi-component model. The findings will have a significant translational impact, paving the way for innovative, non-reading-based interventions and new early screening tools. Ultimately, this project will offer a new, evidence-based approach to help children overcome the specific neurocognitive bottlenecks that hinder their ability to learn to read, with the potential to improve educational outcomes for a large and underserved population.
- Conditions
- Dyslexia
- Being tested
- Action video game intervention group, Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) Group
- Medical subject headings
- Dyslexia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Action video game intervention groupBehavioural
Participants will undergo 12 hours of training with a commercially available AVG (Rabbids: Party of Legends). This game is a direct successor to the Rayman Raving Rabbids game used in AVG intervention studies and shares its core mechanics. The game consists of numerous fast-paced mini-games in which players track multiple objects, respond to unpredictable events, and filter out distractions, thereby placing high demands on visual-spatial attention and attentional control.
Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) GroupBehavioural
Participants will undergo 12 hours of training with SimCity. To control for non-specific effects (e.g., gaming time, engagement, motivation), this group will play a non-action video game of matched duration and format. The investigators will use a commercially available city-building and management simulation game (e.g., SimCity), which is engaging and cognitively demanding (requiring planning and resource management). However, it critically lacks the fast, unpredictable, and attention-intensive elements of action games, ensuring that any observed group differences can be attributed specifically to the visual-attentional training provided by the AVG.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Action Video Game (AVG) Intervention Group | Active comparator | Participants will undergo 12 hours of training with a commercially available AVG (Rabbids: Party of Legends). The game consists of numerous fast-paced mini-games in which players track multiple objects, respond to unpredictable events, and filter out distractions, thereby placing high demands on visual-spatial attention and attentional control. Receives: Behavioral: Action video game intervention group |
| Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) Group | Sham comparator | Using a commercially available city-building and management simulation game (e.g., SimCity), which is engaging and cognitively demanding (requiring planning and resource management). Receives: Behavioral: Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) Group |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Visual Attention Span
Cued Number Identification Task: This task assesses the rapid deployment of visual attention. A string of five numbers (Geneva font, size 24, 98% contrast) is presented for 200 ms, followed by a 50-ms visual cue 1 cm beneath the target number. Numbers are spaced to subtend a 3.8° visual angle and minimise lateral masking. The child's task is to verbally report the cued number. The primary metric is the number of correctly reported targets out of 20 trials.
Measured: Baseline measurement on day 1, Mid-Intervention on day 1, within 30 minutes post-Intervention on day 1, and Follow-Up on day 180
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Jul 2026
- Study start1 Jan 2026
- Primary completion31 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for DyslexiaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- The primary objective of this project will be to provide the first causal validation of our novel Neurocognitive Cascade Model. To achieve this, the investigators will use Action Video Game (AVG) training as a targeted, non-linguistic intervention. This approach will strategically address several critical gaps in the literature. Although AVG training has shown potential for improving reading in children with dyslexia (DD), its efficacy remains debated, with a study failing to replicate positive findings. Furthermore, two crucial issues remain unresolved: (1) as the vast majority of research has focused on alphabetic languages, the effectiveness of AVG training for logographic scripts such as Chinese remains unknown, and (2) the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying any transfer of skills to reading remain poorly understood.
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 76 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, LEUNG Tsz Wing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07707700
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HSEARS20251111001
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 16 Jun 2026
- Last updated
- 16 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Testing the Visual-Attentional Pathway in Chinese Developmental Dyslexia: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Validate a Neurocognitive Cascade Model of Remediation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07707700
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- HSEARS20251111001
- Conditions
- Dyslexia
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 76 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2029 (estimated)
- First posted
- 16 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Developmental dyslexia is a common and serious specific learning disability affecting up to one in eight children in Hong Kong, with profound consequences for academic success and personal well-being. For children learning to read the visually complex Chinese script, the challenge is particularly intense. A key research challenge is a long-standing "chicken-and-egg" debate: are weaknesses in the brain's fast-processing visual system (Magnocellular-Dorsal deficits) a cause of reading difficulties, or merely a consequence of limited reading practice? This uncertainty has constrained theoretical progress, creating a major barrier to developing effective, evidence-based support for struggling readers beyond traditional linguistic-based methods.
This project is designed to resolve this debate by directly testing if training a core visual-attentional skill can causally improve reading. The approach is built on investigator's strong pilot data, which established a novel "Neurocognitive Cascade Model": a framework suggesting that the integrity of foundational visual processing impacts reading through a sequential chain reaction flowing from visual attention to working memory.
To test the model, investigators will employ a rigorous, assessor-blind randomized controlled trial with 100 Cantonese-speaking children with developmental dyslexia. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group that plays action video games, scientifically proven to enhance visual attention, or an active control group that plays a different type of non-action, engaging game. This design allows investigators to isolate the specific impact of the visual-attentional training. The investigators will track changes at four time points-before, during, immediately after the intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up-using a multi-level assessment battery, including objective neural signals of visual processing, cognitive skills, and real-world reading performance measured with advanced eye-tracking technology.
This research will deliver new knowledge that is both scientifically and socially impactful. It will provide the first causal evidence for a visual-attentional pathway to reading remediation in Chinese developmental dyslexia, fundamentally shifting theoretical understanding of the disorder from a single, phonological deficit to a more comprehensive, multi-component model. The findings will have a significant translational impact, paving the way for innovative, non-reading-based interventions and new early screening tools. Ultimately, this project will offer a new, evidence-based approach to help children overcome the specific neurocognitive bottlenecks that hinder their ability to learn to read, with the potential to improve educational outcomes for a large and underserved population.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Triple blind (care provider, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- The primary objective of this project will be to provide the first causal validation of our novel Neurocognitive Cascade Model. To achieve this, the investigators will use Action Video Game (AVG) training as a targeted, non-linguistic intervention. This approach will strategically address several critical gaps in the literature. Although AVG training has shown potential for improving reading in children with dyslexia (DD), its efficacy remains debated, with a study failing to replicate positive findings. Furthermore, two crucial issues remain unresolved: (1) as the vast majority of research has focused on alphabetic languages, the effectiveness of AVG training for logographic scripts such as Chinese remains unknown, and (2) the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying any transfer of skills to reading remain poorly understood.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Action Video Game (AVG) Intervention Group | Active comparator | Behavioral: Action video game intervention groupParticipants will undergo 12 hours of training with a commercially available AVG (Rabbids: Party of Legends). The game consists of numerous fast-paced mini-games in which players track multiple objects, respond to unpredictable events, and filter out distractions, thereby placing high demands on visual-spatial attention and attentional control. |
| Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) Group | Sham comparator | Behavioral: Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) GroupUsing a commercially available city-building and management simulation game (e.g., SimCity), which is engaging and cognitively demanding (requiring planning and resource management). |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 7 to 10 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Formal diagnosis of dyslexia by an educational or clinical psychologist using the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing (HKT-SpLD),39 with a literacy composite score at or below the 10th percentile.
- Non-verbal IQ score ≥ 85 on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices.
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision (both eyes logMAR 0.1 or better).
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- History of neurological or psychiatric disorders (e.g., epilepsy, psychosis).
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Action video game intervention groupParticipants will undergo 12 hours of training with a commercially available AVG (Rabbids: Party of Legends). This game is a direct successor to the Rayman Raving Rabbids game used in AVG intervention studies and shares its core mechanics. The game consists of numerous fast-paced mini-games in which players track multiple objects, respond to unpredictable events, and filter out distractions, thereby placing high demands on visual-spatial attention and attentional control. | Behavioural | Action Video Game (AVG) Intervention Group |
| Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) GroupParticipants will undergo 12 hours of training with SimCity. To control for non-specific effects (e.g., gaming time, engagement, motivation), this group will play a non-action video game of matched duration and format. The investigators will use a commercially available city-building and management simulation game (e.g., SimCity), which is engaging and cognitively demanding (requiring planning and resource management). However, it critically lacks the fast, unpredictable, and attention-intensive elements of action games, ensuring that any observed group differences can be attributed specifically to the visual-attentional training provided by the AVG. | Behavioural | Active Control (Non-Action Video Game) Group |
Primary outcome
Visual Attention Span
Time frame: Baseline measurement on day 1, Mid-Intervention on day 1, within 30 minutes post-Intervention on day 1, and Follow-Up on day 180
Cued Number Identification Task: This task assesses the rapid deployment of visual attention. A string of five numbers (Geneva font, size 24, 98% contrast) is presented for 200 ms, followed by a 50-ms visual cue 1 cm beneath the target number. Numbers are spaced to subtend a 3.8° visual angle and minimise lateral masking. The child's task is to verbally report the cued number. The primary metric is the number of correctly reported targets out of 20 trials.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Action video game intervention group in people with Dyslexia, run by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University at 1 site in Hong Kong.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Hong Kong. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Tsz Wing Leung, PhD (+852 27664268, jeffrey.TW.leung@polyu.edu.hk), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Visual Attention Span (time frame: Baseline measurement on day 1, Mid-Intervention on day 1, within 30 minutes post-Intervention on day 1, and Follow-Up on day 180). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Jul 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 31 Oct 2026.