Psychology, 2019, 10, 235-255 http://www.scirp.org/journal/psych ISSN Online: 2152-7199 ISSN Print: 2152-7180 DOI: 10.4236/psych.2019.102018 Feb. 20, 2019 235 Psychology The Differences in Semantic Processing of Pictures and Words between Dyslexic and Typical-Reading University Students Shelley Shaul * , Ziva Rom Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, Department of Learning Disabilities, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel Abstract The present study compared the semantic processing of pictures and words by dyslexics to that of typical readers utilizing the electro-physiological (ERP) technique during a semantic categorization decision task. ERPs of 40 univer- sity students, 20 typical readers and 20 dyslexic readers were recorded while they participated in a categorization decision task. The subjects were presented with two kinds of stimuli—words and pictures. Results revealed longer reac- tion times in response to words as compared to pictures in both groups. Elec- trophysiological measures revealed differences in amplitudes and latencies of ERP components in addition to differences in the mean activity. The results illustrated that the differences between processing words and processing pic- tures were manifested in timing and in the brain areas involved in the tasks. It also illustrated that although dyslexic and typical readers displayed equal ability to read and understand familiar words, dyslexics could not perform as quick- ly as typical readers. The semantic domain may be one of the compensatory mechanisms which help compensated dyslexic readers reach and succeed in the higher education system. Keywords Dyslexia, Event-Related Potentials (ERP), Semantic Processing, Picture Processing, Word Processing 1. Introduction Any visual stimulus, such as words and pictures, is a symbol that represents the meaning of an object, an event or a relationship (Ganis, Kutas, & Sereno, 1996). In everyday life, we constantly encounter pictures and words that represent How to cite this paper: Shaul, S., & Rom, Z. (2019). The Differences in Semantic Processing of Pictures and Words between Dyslexic and Typical-Reading University Students. Psychology, 10, 235-255. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2019.102018 Received: December 31, 2018 Accepted: February 17, 2019 Published: February 20, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access