Related Experiment Videos
Acquired mirror writing and reading: evidence for reflected graphemic representations
Jay A Gottfried1, Feyza Sancar, Anjan Chatterjee
1Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3 West Gates, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Neuropsychologia
|November 13, 2002
Summary
This study details a patient with persistent mirror writing and reading after brain injury. Findings suggest privileged access to mirrored graphemes, potentially at the whole word level, rather than general visual-spatial mirroring.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurolinguistics
Background:
- Mirror writing and reading are rare phenomena offering insights into visual-spatial and motor representations.
- These abilities can emerge after brain damage, highlighting neural organization complexities.
Observation:
- A 51-year-old patient exhibited persistent mirror writing and reading post-traumatic brain injury.
- The patient showed a preference for mirror writing with either hand but normal drawing directional bias.
- She demonstrated enhanced speed and accuracy in reading mirrored words compared to normal words.
Findings:
- The patient's performance suggests privileged access to mirrored graphemes, not general visual-spatial mirroring or reflected motor programs.
- Improved reading of irregular words in mirrored format suggests whole-word level mirrored representations.
Implications:
- This case challenges existing models of visual-spatial and motor representation in the brain.
- It provides evidence for distinct, potentially whole-word level, graphemic representations in mirror reading.
- Understanding these phenomena can inform rehabilitation strategies for individuals with brain injuries.