Intracerebral Electrical Stimulation of the Left Occipito-Temporal Cortex Induces Pure Alexia.

ABSTRACT: The ability to read relies on the rapid mapping of perceived visual letters and their combinations (i.e., visual word forms) to phonology and meaning. The central role of the left ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC) in processing letter strings, initially suggested by lesion studies, is now widely accepted. Although this brain region has been extensively studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), its causal role as a critical node of a cortical network for reading remains unclear. Here we report a comprehensive case of pure alexia during direct electrical stimulation (DES) of the left VOTC (patient SV, female, 38 yr old, implanted with intracerebral electrodes for refractory epilepsy). During DES of the left posterior occipito-temporal sulcus, but not of neighboring and

SUBMITTER: Marchive M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12727048 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature