Right Hemisphere Damage

Question 1

Visual Word Form Area

Answer 1

relate letters to mental representation of words

Question 2

Pure Alexia

Answer 2

-angular gyrus is intact- able to write but unable to read what they wrote
- prevent incoming visual information from reaching left angular gyrus for linguistic interpretation

Question 3

Alexia with Agraphia

Answer 3

-Disorder of both reading and writing
-Damage to the angular gyrus (supplied by MCA)
 Fluent, paraphasia speech
 Impaired auditory comprehension

Question 4

Neglect vs Field Cut

Answer 4

-Visual Field Cut: person is aware, compensates
-Neglect: person is unable to notice, respond to one side of their world

Question 5

Visual Field Cut

Answer 5

-Patient is aware of visual field cut and will compensate
-Occur contralateral to the site of lesion
-Visual field cuts assessed by perimetry
-Right homonymous hemianopia = right visual field cut
-Left infarct of occipital lobe = right field cut

Question 6

Neglect

Answer 6

-Cause of neglect: lesions in frontal and parietal areas of the right hemisphere or their connections
-Right hemisphere more involved in visuospatial surveillance than left
-Right hemisphere attends to BOTH sides of the environment

Question 7

Agnosia

Answer 7

-Disorder of recognition: person fails to recognize an object even when primary sensory modalities have registered its features adequately
-Sensation intact
-“absence of knowledge”
-A normal percept that has been stripped of its meaning
-Many types of agnosia such as anosognosia
o Anosognosia: denial of deficits