Pugh's primary contributions have been in the areas of cognitive neuroscience and psycholinguistics. He was among the first scientists to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to reveal brain activity associated with reading and reading disabilities. His current research employs combined behavioral and neurobiological measures and genetic information in the study of typical and atypical reading and language development, with a particular focus on learning and plasticity in disabled readers, including those with dyslexia. Pugh is a member of the National Academies/National Research Council Committee on Learning Sciences: Foundations and Applications to Adolescent and Adult Literacy . His most recent book, which he edited with Peggy McCardle of the National Institutes of Health, How Children Learn to Read: Current Issues and New Directions in the Integration of Cognition, Neurobiology and Genetics of Reading and Dyslexia Research and Practice, provides a survey of contemporary research and thinking in these areas. Pugh and several of his colleagues at Haskins Laboratories are featured in Dislecksia The Movie which is in post-production.
Selected publications
Pugh, K., Rexer, K., Peter, M., & Katz, L.. Neighborhood effects in visual word recognition: Effects of letter delay and nonword context difficulty. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 639–648.
Shaywitz, B., Shaywitz, S., Pugh, K., Constable, T., Skudlarski, P., Fulbright, R., Bronen, R., Fletcher, J., Shankweiler, D., Katz, L., & Gore, J.. Sex differences in the functional organization of the brain for language. Nature, 373, 607–609.
Pugh, K., Shaywitz, B., Constable, T., Shaywitz, S., Skudlarski, P., Fulbright, R., Bronen, R., Shankweiler, D., Katz, L., Fletcher, J., & Gore, J.. Cerebral organization of component processes in reading. Brain, 119, 1221–1238.
Pugh, K. R., Sandak, R., Frost, S. J., Moore, D., & Mencl, W. E.. Examining reading development and reading disability in English language learners: Potential contributions from functional neuroimaging. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 20, 24–30.
Pugh, Ken and McCardle, Peggy.. How Children Learn to Read: Current Issues and New Directions in the Integration of Cognition, Neurobiology and Genetics of Reading and Dyslexia Research and Practice. Psychology Press.
Diehl, J. J., Frost, S. J., Mencl, W. E., & Pugh, K. R.. Neuroimaging and the phonological deficit hypothesis. In S. Brady, D. Braze & C. A. Fowler, "Explaining individual differences in reading: Theory and evidence". New York: Psychology Press.
