Reading on the right when there’s nothing left? Probabilistic tractography reveals hemispheric asymmetry in pure alexia

Abstract

We present a patient with reading inexpertise and right hemianopia following left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke. We examine the extent of disruption to reading performance and the extent of white matter tract damage relative to a patient with more limited PCA infarction and isolated right hemianopia. We show white matter disconnection of the temporal occipital fusiform cortex in our pure alexia patient. Connectivity-based laterality indices revealed right hemisphere laterality in the alexia patient; this was not associated with improved reading function. We speculate that the degree of premorbid laterality may be a critical factor affecting the extent of reading dysfunction in alexia.