Dyslexia is among the most common neurodevelopmental

disorders, with a prevalence of 5–12%. At the phenotypic level,

various cognitive components that enable reading and spelling

and that are disturbed in affected individuals can be

distinguished. Depending on the phenotype dimension

investigated, inherited factors are estimated to account for up to

80%. Linkage findings in dyslexia are relatively consistent

across studies in comparison to findings for other

neuropsychiatric disorders. This is particularly true for

chromosome regions 1p34–p36, 6p21–p22, 15q21 and

18q11. Four candidate genes have recently been identified

through systematic linkage disequilibrium studies in linkage

region 6p21–p22, and through cloning approaches at

chromosomal breakpoints. Results indicate that a disturbance in

neuronal migration is a pathological correlate of dyslexia at the

functional level. This review presents a summary of the latest

insights into the genetics of dyslexia and an overview of

anticipated future developments.