Agraphia for kanji resulting from a left posterior middle temporal gyrus lesion.
OBJECTIVE
To clarify whether agraphia or alexia occurs in lesions of the left posterior middle temporal gyrus.


METHODS
We assessed the reading and writing abilities of two patients with this lesion using kanji (Japanese morphograms) and kana (Japanese syllabograms).


RESULTS
Patient 1 first presented with pure alexia more impaired for kana after an infarction in the left middle and inferior occipital gyri and right basal occipital cortex, and after a second infarction in the left posterior middle temporal gyrus adjoining the first lesion he showed alexia with agraphia for kanji and worsened alexia for kana; kanji alexia recovered over the following six to 10 months. Patient 2 presented with alexia with agraphia for kanji following a hemorrhage in the left posterior middle and inferior temporal gyri, which resolved to agraphia for kanji at two months after onset. Kana nonword reading was also slightly impaired, but became normal by six months post-onset. In both patients, kanji agraphia was mostly due to impaired character recall.


CONCLUSIONS
The present patients demonstrate that damage to the left posterior middle temporal gyrus alone can cause agraphia for kanji. If the adjacent mid fusiform/inferior temporal gyri (Area 37) are spared, the kanji alexia is transient.
Sakurai
Yasuhisa
Y
Department of Neurology, Mitsui Memorial Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. ysakurai-tky@umin.ac.jp
Mimura
Imari
I
Mannen
Toru
T
D000368:Aged; D000381:Agraphia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D020237:Alexia, Pure / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D014956:Writing