Semantic paralexias facilitated by tachistoscopic reading in a patient with impairment of phonological recoding

This study of a dyslexic patient supports the view that the level of impairment of the phonological route plays a role in the production of semantic paralexias. The patient's reading was based on a defective phoneme-to-grapheme transcoding, in spite of evidence that semantic information was available through non phonological routes. The hypothesis that the residual ability to carry out phonological recoding could block the production of semantic paralexias was confirmed by tachistoscopic reading, assumed to interfere with phonological recoding in this patient, that provoked a definite rise of this type of error. The relationship between the degree of damage of phonological route and the clinical expression of the syndromes of phonological dyslexia and deep dyslexia is also discussed.