Different interhemispheric transfer of kanji and kana writing evidenced by a case with left unilateral agraphia without apraxia

Brain. 1989 Aug:112 ( Pt 4):1011-8. doi: 10.1093/brain/112.4.1011.

Abstract

Recent neuropsychological studies have revealed that the processing of kanji (the Japanese morphograms) and kana (the Japanese syllabograms) involves different intrahemispheric mechanisms. We describe a patient showing left unilateral agraphia without apraxia for kanji, but not for kana, who was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging as having a lesion of the posterior body of the corpus callosum. This patient indicates that different neural pathways are used for kanji and kana not only intrahemispherically, but also interhemispherically.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Agraphia / diagnosis
  • Agraphia / physiopathology*
  • Agraphia / psychology
  • Dominance, Cerebral*
  • Female
  • Handwriting*
  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Neural Pathways / physiopathology