The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

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ArticleTitle	The case study of a patient with alexia and agraphia who can read kana words but not kana single letters
Language	J
AuthorList	Yuka Oishi¹⁾²⁾, Hikaru Nagasawa³⁾, Kyoko Suzuki¹⁾
Affiliation	¹⁾Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Yamagata University Graduate School of Medicine ²⁾Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare ³⁾Department of Neurology, Yamagata Prefectural Central Hospital
Publication	Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 34 (1), 63-73, 2018
Received	Jun 21, 2016
Accepted	May 22, 2017
Abstract	A 79-year-old right-handed man who is a retired accountant developed alexia specific to single kana (syllabogram) letters following a cerebral infarction in the left medial occipitotemporal region. Neurological examinations revealed right upper quadrantanopia, alexia, agraphia, and color anomia. The patient could read kana words and kanji (logogram) words correctly but not a single kana letter or kana non-words. Tracing a kana letter with his finger did not improve his reading performance. Following the auditory presentation of a syllable, the patient was unable to point to the corresponding single kana letter. He also had difficulty writing kana letters that overlapped with those he could not read. Thus, his ability to read and write single kana letters was severely impaired, whereas his ability to read kana words was preserved. These findings suggest that the patient retained intact word forms but had impaired representations of kana letters. He may be able to read kana words using word forms as a whole, even though he cannot read individual letters with confidence.
Keywords	alexia, kana single letter, letter alexia, whole word reading, occipital lobe damage