Abstract
We analyzed the process of copying letters in a patient of agraphia for Kanji due to posteroinferior temporal lesion. Eye-fixation patterns and writing procedures were recorded during the copying of 28 Kanji characters which the patient could write to dictation and 28 ones which he could not, using an eye camera. We matched the number of strokes in writing between these two groups of Kanji characters. The mean fixation times spent for recognizing a model Kanji character were 0.86 sec for those which the patient could write to dictation and 0.92 sec for those which he could not. The mean writing times in copying were 3.67 sec and 3.69 sec respectively. As for the mean fixation time and the mean writing time, there was no difference between the two groups of Kanji. The error in the order of making strokes in writing a character was observed in one Kanji character of each group. These results show that the mere recognition of the configuration of a Kanji character which the patient can not write to dictation enables him to write it down fluently in his own style. In addition, agraphia for Kanji became more prominent, as the configuration of Kanji became more complex and the grade at which they should be learned was increased. These facts suggest the possibility that amnesia for Kanji characters plays a major role in agraphia for Kanji due to posteroinferior temporal lesion.
