Symptom 9: Difficulty in Reading Aloud
Moving on to the ninth symptom, individuals with conduction aphasia often have difficulty reading aloud, a condition known as alexia. Despite being able to comprehend written texts perfectly when reading silently, converting these written words into spoken language becomes a considerable challenge.
For instance, someone with conduction aphasia could read a book chapter silently without any difficulty, comprehending the story, understanding the characters, and following the plot. However, if asked to read the same chapter out loud, they might stumble over words, mispronounce them, or substitute them with unrelated ones.
This symptom underscores the complex interplay between different language processes in our brain. Reading aloud isn’t just about reading the words on the page; it involves a transformation process where the visual input of written language is converted into the auditory output of spoken language. In conduction aphasia, it appears that this transformation pathway is disrupted, leading to difficulties in reading aloud.
However, it’s fascinating to note that silent reading abilities remain relatively intact. This implies that the comprehension aspect of reading is preserved, and the disruption primarily affects the production side of this process.(9)
