Alexia for Ideograms: Implications for Kanji Alexia

Abstract

This study was concerned with a model for kanj i reading applicable in a non-Japanese population of aphasics. The experimental task required aphasic subjects to match animals with their footprints, a type of ideogram “reading” requiring no special training. As is true for kanji, footprint reading defects were consistently associated with word reading impairment, but some aphasics with defects in word reading performed normally in footprint reading. All with defects in footprint reading were also impaired in letter recognition or pantomime recognition. One aphasic's pattern of symptoms was quite similar to the rare phenomenon of Gogi aphasia. Implications for kanj i alexia are discussed.