Skip to main content

Alexia Theory and Therapies: A Heuristic

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Alexia

Abstract

Most of the scientific studies of acquired reading disorders have been carried out within the framework of cognitive neuropsychology, which aims to understand normal reading rather than alexia per se. Cognitive neuropsychology rests on a set of core assumptions and is associated with some specific inferential methods. It is, however, not a clinical discipline, and translating cognitive neuropsychological research to clinical use is challenging. In this chapter we critically review the basic assumptions and methods of cognitive neuropsychology and relate these to the study of reading and acquired reading disorders. We also consider some general principles to guide future cognitive rehabilitation studies of reading.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Seidenberg MS, McClelland JL. A distributed, developmental model of word recognition and naming. Psychol Rev. 1989;96:523–68.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Coltheart M, Curtis B, Atkins P, Haller M. Models of reading aloud: dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychol Rev. 1993;100:589–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Woollams AM, Ralph MA, Plaut DC, Patterson K. SD-squared: on the association between semantic dementia and surface dyslexia. Psychol Rev. 2007;114:316–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Coltheart M, Tree JJ, Saunders SJ. Computational modeling of reading in semantic dementia: comment on Woollams, Lambon Ralph, Plaut, and Patterson (2007). Psychol Rev. 2010;117:256–71; discussion 271–2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Woollams AM, Lambon Ralph MA, Plaut DC, Patterson K. SD-squared revisited: reply to Coltheart, Tree, and Saunders (2010). Psychol Rev. 2010;117:273–81. discussion 282–3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Selnes OA. A historical overview of contributions from the study of deficits. In: Rapp B, editor. The handbook of cognitive neuropsychology. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Psychology Press; 2001. p. 23–41.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Rapp B, editor. The handbook of cognitive neuropsychology. What deficits reveal about the human mind. Philadelphia: Psychology Press; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Marshall JC, Newcombe F. Syntactic and semantic errors in paralexia. Neuropsychologia. 1966;4:169–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Marshall JC, Newcombe F. Patterns of paralexia: a psycholinguistic approach. J Psycholinguist Res. 1973;2:175–99.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Coltheart M, Patterson K, Marshall JC, editors. Deep dyslexia. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Marcel T. Surface dyslexia and beginning reading: a revised hypothesis of the pronunciation of print and its impairments. In: Coltheart M, Patterson K, Marshall JC, editors. Deep dyslexia. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1987. p. 227–58.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Andreewsky E, Deloche G, Kossanyi P. Analogies between speed-reading and deep dyslexia: towards a procedural understanding of reading. In: Coltheart M, Patterson K, Marshall JC, editors. Deep dyslexia. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1987. p. 307–25.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Sasanuma S. Acquired dyslexia in Japanese: clinical features and underlying mechanisms. In: Coltheart M, Patterson K, Marshall JC, editors. Deep dyslexia. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1987. p. 48–90.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Shallice T, Warrington EK. Single and multiple component central dyslexic syndromes. In: Coltheart M, Patterson K, Marshall JC, editors. Deep dyslexia. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1987. p. 119–45.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Schwartz MF, Saffran EM, Marin OS. Fractionating the reading process in dementia: evidence for word- specific print-to-sound associations. In: Coltheart M, Patterson K, Marshall JC, editors. Deep dyslexia. 2nd ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1987. p. 259–69.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Cipolotti L, Warrington EK. Semantic memory and reading abilities: a case report. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 1995;1:104–10.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Blazely AM, Coltheart M, Casey BJ. Semantic impairment with and without surface dyslexia: implications for models of reading. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2005;22:695–717.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Coltheart M. Assumptions and methods in cognitive neuropsychology. In: Rapp B, editor. The handbook of cognitive neuropsychology. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Psychology Press; 2001. p. 3–21.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kay J, Lesser R, Coltheart M. PALPA: Psycholinguistic Assessment of Language Processing in Aphasia. Hove: Psychology Press; 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Whitworth A, Webster J, Howard D. A cognitive neuropsychological approach to assessment and intervention in aphasia. 1st ed. Hove: Psychology Press; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Shallice T. From neuropsychology to mental structure. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1988.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  22. Kherif F, Josse G, Seghier ML, Price CJ. The main sources of intersubject variability in neuronal activation for reading aloud. J Cogn Neurosci. 2009;21:654–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Paulesu E, Brunswick N, Paganelli F. Cross-cultural differences in unimpaired and dyslexic reading: behavioral and functional anatomical observations in readers of regular and irregular orthographies. In: Brunswick N, McDougall S, de Mornay DP, editors. Reading and dyslexia in different orthographies. Hove: Psychology Press; 2010. p. 249–72.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Dehaene S. Reading in the brain: the science and evolution of a human invention. New York: Viking; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Starrfelt R, Behrmann M. Number reading in pure alexia—a review. Neuropsychologia. 2011;49:2283–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Fodor JA. The modularity of mind. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Coltheart M. Modularity and cognition. Trends Cogn Sci. 1999;3:115–20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Coltheart M, Rastle K, Perry C, Langdon R, Ziegler J. DRC: a dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud. Psychol Rev. 2001;108:204–56.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Sternberg S. Modular processes in mind and brain. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2011;28:156–208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Coltheart M. Methods for modular modelling: additive factors and cognitive neuropsychology. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2011;28:224–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Laws KR. “Illusions of normality”: a methodological critique of category-specific naming. Cortex. 2005;41:842–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Bruyer R, Brysbaert M. Combining speed and accuracy in cognitive psychology: is the Inverse Efficiency Score (IES) a better dependent variable than the mean Reaction Time (RT) and the Percentage of Errors (PE)? Psychologica Belgica. 2011;51:5–13.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH. Investigation of the single case in neuropsychology: confidence limits on the abnormality of test scores and test score differences. Neuropsychologia. 2002;40:1196–208.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH, Howell DC. On comparing a single case with a control sample: an alternative perspective. Neuropsychologia. 2009;47:2690–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH. Single-case research in neuropsychology: a comparison of five forms of t-test for comparing a case to controls. Cortex. 2012;48:1009–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH. Comparison of a single case to a control or normative sample in neuropsychology: development of a Bayesian approach. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2007;24:343–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH, Porter S. Point and interval estimates of effect sizes for the case-controls design in neuropsychology: rationale, methods, implementations, and proposed reporting standards. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2010;27:245–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH. Detecting dissociations in single-case studies: type I errors, statistical power and the classical versus strong distinction. Neuropsychologia. 2006;44:2249–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH, Gray CD. Wanted: fully operational definitions of dissociations in single-case studies. Cortex. 2003;39:357–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH. Evaluation of criteria for classical dissociations in single-case studies by Monte Carlo simulation. Neuropsychology. 2005;19:664–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH, Wood LT. Inferential methods for comparing two single cases. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2010;27:377–400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Crawford JR, Garthwaite PH, Ryan K. Comparing a single case to a control sample: testing for neuropsychological deficits and dissociations in the presence of covariates. Cortex. 2011;47:1166–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. McIntosh RD, Brooks JL. Current tests and trends in single-case neuropsychology. Cortex. 2011;47:1151–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Crawford JR. Quantitative aspects of neuropsychological assessment. In: Goldstein LH, McNeil JE, editors. Clinical neuropsychology: a practical guide to assessment and management for clinicians. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley; 2012. p. 129–55.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Roberts DJ, Woollams AM, Kim E, Beeson PM, Rapcsak SZ, Lambon Ralph MA. Efficient visual object and word recognition relies on high spatial frequency coding in the left posterior fusiform gyrus: evidence from a case-series of patients with ventral occipito-temporal cortex damage. Cereb Cortex. 2012. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhs224.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Schwartz MF, Dell GS. Case series investigations in cognitive neuropsychology. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2010;27:477–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Rapp B. Case series in cognitive neuropsychology: promise, perils, and proper perspective. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2011;28:435–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Martinaud O, Pouliquen D, Gerardin E, et al. Visual agnosia and posterior cerebral artery infarcts: an anatomical-clinical study. PLoS One. 2012;7:e30433.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Schwartz MF, Kimberg DY, Walker GM, et al. Anterior temporal involvement in semantic word retrieval: voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping evidence from aphasia. Brain. 2009;132:3411–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Hillis AE, Newhart M, Heidler J, Barker P, Herskovits E, Degaonkar M. The roles of the “visual word form area” in reading. Neuroimage. 2005;24:548–59.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Price CJ, Seghier ML, Leff AP. Predicting language outcome and recovery after stroke: the PLORAS system. Nat Rev Neurol. 2010;6:202–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Coltheart M. Acquired dyslexias and the computational modelling of reading. Cogn Neuropsychol. 2006;23:96–109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Logan PA, Leighton MP, Walker MF, et al. A multi-centre randomised controlled trial of rehabilitation aimed at improving outdoor mobility for people after stroke: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2012;13:86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Lekwuwa G, Barnes GI. The relationship between cerebral lesion sites and smooth pursuit deficits. Brain. 1996;119:473–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Mackensen G. Die Untersuchung der Lesefähigkeit als klinische Funktionsprüfung. Fortschr Augenheilk. 1962;12:344–79.

    Google Scholar 

  56. MRC. Developing and evaluating complex interventions: new guidance. London: Medical Research Council; 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Barnett AG, van der Pols JC, Dobson AJ. Regression to the mean: what it is and how to deal with it. Int J Epidemiol. 2005;34:215–20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Cramer SC. Repairing the human brain after stroke: I. Mechanisms of spontaneous recovery. Ann Neurol. 2008;63:272–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Altman DG, Bland JM. Treatment allocation by minimisation. BMJ. 2005;330:843.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Bath PM, Lees KR, Schellinger PD, et al. Statistical analysis of the primary outcome in acute stroke trials. Stroke. 2012;43:1171–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Behrmann M, Marotta J, Gauthier I, Tarr MJ, McKeeff TJ. Behavioral change and its neural correlates in visual agnosia after expertise training. J Cogn Neurosci. 2005;17:554–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Omaggio AC. Teaching language in context: proficiency-oriented instruction. University of California. Boston: Heinle & Heinle; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Friedman RB, Sample DM, Lott SN. The role of level of representation in the use of paired associate learning for rehabilitation of alexia. Neuropsychologia. 2002;40:223–34.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. Bhogal SK, Teasell R, Speechley M. Intensity of aphasia therapy, impact on recovery. Stroke. 2003;34:987–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Bowen A, Hesketh A, Patchick E, et al. Effectiveness of enhanced communication therapy in the first four months after stroke for aphasia and dysarthria: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2012;345:e4407.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Brady MC, Kelly H, Godwin J, Enderby P. Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;5:CD000425. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000425.pub3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Ong YH, Brown MM, Robinson P, Plant GT, Husain M, Leff AP. Read-Right: a “web app” that improves reading speeds in patients with hemianopia. J Neurol. 2012;259(12):2611–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Woodhead ZVJ, Penny W, Barnes GR, et al. Reading therapy strengthens top-down connectivity in patients with pure alexia. Brain. 2013;136(Pt 8):2579–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Katz RC, Wertz RT. The efficacy of computer-provided reading treatment for chronic aphasic adults. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1997;40:493–507.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Leff, A., Starrfelt, R. (2014). Alexia Theory and Therapies: A Heuristic. In: Alexia. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5529-4_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5529-4_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-5528-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-5529-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics