Alexia and agraphia in Japanese

Abstract

Reading and writing are important in modern society. Focal brain injuries, such as stroke, selectively impair reading and/or writing, leading to alexia and/or agraphia, respectively. In this review, I describe pure alexia and agraphia in Japanese; alexia and agraphia associated with aphasia are excluded unless otherwise specified.Dejerine established the theoretical basis for alexia with agraphia and alexia without agraphia. 1 Interruption between the visual cortex and the left angular gyrus was assumed to result in alexia without agraphia. This model was revived by Geschwind as a disconnection syndrome. 2 During the early 20th century, pure alexia and/or agraphia in Japanese were reported in Japanese journals, including cases of pure alexia, 3,4 alexia with agraphia, 5 and apraxic agraphia. 6 These

Neuropsychological Diagnosis and Assessment of Alexia: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…9 [45] To analyze dissociated reading/writing performance in kanji and kana scripts in Japanese alexia and agraphia, and to understand the underlying mechanisms.…”

“…Research in this arena has shed light on how alexia presents itself across different languages, taking into account the idiosyncrasies of various writing systems [39]. Another researcher further expanded this knowledge base by detailing how the dissociated reading and writing performance in Japanese kanji and kana scripts offer a window into the partially separable mechanisms undergirding these writing systems [45]. This body of work underscores the importance of culturally attuned diagnostic frameworks that accommodate the linguistic diversity of alexia presentations, ensuring that assessments are both accurate and culturally sensitive.…”

“…Research reflects on the influence of language-specific factors, such as script complexity and orthography, on the neuropsychological assessment and diagnosis of alexia. [39,45] Visual Processing and Perceptual Deficits Focusing on the visual aspects of reading and the perceptual deficits that may underlie alexic disorders, such as crowding or hemianopic disturbances.…”

“…The next layer acknowledges the importance of language-specific and cultural factors in the manifestation of alexia. The assessment should be sensitive to the script complexity and orthographic characteristics of the patient's language, as these impact the nature of the reading disorder [39,45]. Concurrent with the above, evaluating visual processing abilities is critical.…”