Professional
Technical
IVT
alexia
Pronunciation: ah-LEK-see-ah
Acquired reading disorder resulting from brain injury, distinct from developmental dyslexia.
Full Definition
Alexia is an acquired inability to read due to brain damage, typically affecting the left hemisphere language areas or their connections. Unlike developmental dyslexia, alexia occurs in previously literate individuals following stroke, trauma, or other neurological insults. The condition can present with or without accompanying writing difficulties (agraphia), and severity ranges from complete reading blindness to selective impairments in specific types of text.
Usage
Usage note: Always specify the type of alexia (with or without agraphia) for clinical accuracy.
In Context
- "The patient developed alexia without agraphia following a posterior cerebral artery stroke." — Neurological assessment report
- "Pure alexia was confirmed when the patient could write fluently but could not read his own writing." — Clinical case study
Also known as
acquired dyslexia
word blindness
Don't confuse with
aphasia
dyslexia