Alexia

Question 1

Alexia refers to

Answer 1

an impairment of the ability to read

Question 2

Alexia is caused by

Answer 2

acquired neurological damage

damage to angular gyrus (area 39)

Question 3

Alexia is seen in various types of aphasia, most often associated with __________lesions

Answer 3

posterior

Question 4

Reading

Answer 4

1. graphemic input lexicon
2. activation in GIL = activation of word meaning in the semantic system
3. reading out loud also activates phonoogical output lexicon–phonological buffer

Question 5

Types of Alexia

Answer 5

attentional
neglect
pure
surface
phonological
semantic
deep

Question 6

attentional alexia

Answer 6

sometimes seen in TBI where the patient may disregard specific words in a sentence

Question 7

neglect alexia

Answer 7

caused by visual field neglect

Question 8

Pure alexia

Answer 8

seen in the absence of aphasia
graphemic input lexicon= intact
semantic system= intact
breakdown= visual input does not activate the graphemic input lexicon
**often reads "letter by letter"
**very rare!!!

Question 9

In pure alexia, _________________ is not shown…the individual struggles equally with low & high frequency words

Answer 9

lexical effect

Question 10

Semantic Alexia

Answer 10

seen in AD
impairment in reading is also seen in other modalities
–comprehension: reading+ auditory comprehension
–expressions= writing + verbal output

Question 11

Surface Alexia

Answer 11

due to breakdown in grapheme input lexicon
read via non-lexical route (letter-to-sound conversion)
words comprehended based on how they “sound”
regularly spelled words read much more easily than irregular

Question 12

Phonological Alexia

Answer 12

Cannot do letter-to-sound conversion
breakdown between visual analysis and phonological buffer
-easier to read words with “widespread representation” in the semantic output lexicon..(ex. concrete nouns and adj easier than prepositions, conjunctions….)

Question 13

Deep Alexia

Answer 13

phonological alexia + semantic impairment
(cannot read via the phonological route AND have problems in the semantic system)
- nouns & adj easier than verbs
- concrete/imaginable nounds better than abstract nonimagable nouns
-inability to read Pseudowords

Question 14

Examples of semantic errors someone with deep alexia may make when reading

Answer 14

tall= short
hoarse= cow
king=queen
sleep= dream