Acalculia, alexia, & agraphia Flashcards
Alexia with hemianopsia & achromotopsia suggests a lesion in the
Dominant occipital-temporal area
Neuroanatomical correlate of phonological agraphia
Supramarginal gyrus or insula (assoc. w/ alexia) Perisylvian region (assoc. w/ aphasia)
Exner’s area
Area just superior to Broca’s believed to be associated with agraphia
What are the two general nosologies of agraphia?
Clinical neurology classification (aphasic & nonaphasic agraphias) Cognitive neuropsychological classification (phonological & lexical agraphia)
Derivational error
Reading, writing, or speaking error at the single word level in which the correct morpheme root is retained but differs in part of speech (e.g., ‘confuse’ for ‘confusion’)
Neuroanatomical correlate of alexia with agraphia
Dominant angular gyrus in the inferior parietal lobe
Spatial agraphia
Writing impairment due to spatial deficits that affect nonlinguistic aspects of writing
Attentional alexia
Characterized by relative preservation of single-word reading in context of gross disruption of reading when words are presented as text or in the presence of other words or letters
Alexia without agraphia is associated with what other conditions?
R HH, color naming disturbance
Visual-spatial agraphia (constructional agraphia) is characterized by
Reiteration of strokes Inability to complete a straight horizontal line Insertion of spaces between graphemes
Surface alexia is associated with lesions in the
L temporal lobe
Hans Berger’s primary acalculia
Disturbance in performing calculations specifically
Allographic aphasia
Writing impairment associated with poor written production characterized by frequent omission errors w/ well-formed letter production (may reflect wrong letter); copying & oral spelling are spared
Neuroanatomical correlate of surface/lexical agraphia
Posterior angular gyrus & parieto-occipital lobule (assoc. w/ aphasia)
What other conditions are often associated with acalculia assoc. w/ alexia & agraphia for numbers?
Aphasia, verbal alexia, ideational & ideomotor apraxia, constructional deficits, somatognosia
Literal alexia is associated with a lesion in the
left frontal area
Phonological agraphia
Reflects impairment of sound-to-letter correspondences (nonlexical spelling route); markedly impaired spelling of nonwords & unfamiliar words but can spell words with which they are familiar
Peripheral vs. central dyslexias (Shallice & Warrington)
Peripheral - characterized by deficit in processing of visual aspects of stimulus, which prevents pt from reliably matching familiar word to stored form (e.g. alexia without agraphia) Central - impairment to deeper or higher reading functions by which visual word forms mediate access to meaning or speech production mechanisms
Semantic agraphia
Impaired ability to spell & write with meaning; may produce semantic jargon, spell semantically incorrect but correctly spelled dictated homophones; common finding in AD & semantic dementia
Hecaen’s classifications (1961) of acalculia
1) Acalculia assoc. w/ alexia & agraphia for numbers 2) Acalculia of the spatial type 3) Anarithmetria
Neuroanatomical correlate of anarithmetria
Left-sided & bilateral brain disease; RH only if parietal lobe is involved
What other conditions are often associated with anarithmetria?
Aphasia, visuoconstructive deficits, general cognitive deterioration, verbal alexia, visual field defects
Alexia without agraphia is also known as
Posterior alexia
Hemi-alexia
Individual can read adequately in one visual field but not other; often seen when posterior CC is severed but both visual sensory areas remain intact
Alexia for arithmetical signs with preserved reading of #s is associated with what type of lesion?
Focal LH lesion in parietal or temporal-occipital areas