Cognitive patterns and neural correlates in acquired phonological dyslexia. A pilot study in Greek patients after traumatic and non-traumatic brain disorders

Reading and writing difficulties are commonly observed after traumatic and non-traumatic brain disorders (T-nTBDs). In this study, we investigated whether: (a) differentiation between acquired dyslexia (AD) and aphasia is possible in patients with T-nTBDs; (b) AD patterns constitute the subtype of Acquired Phonological Dyslexia (APhD); and (c) there are causal interactions between brain lesions and the APhD phenotype. A total of 22 Greek patients with T-nTBDs receiving a six-month intensive speech treatment were recruited for the study. The Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and the Dyslexia Adults Screening Test (DAST) were applied. The significant statistical correlations between the DAST tests of "Semantic Fluency" and "Nonsense Passage Reading" (<i>p</i> = .006), along with their statistically significant effect on the Dyslexia Quotient (<i>p</i> = .044, <i>p</i> = .020, respectively), highlighted the prevalence of the APhD type. A network of brain lesions was found to be significantly involved in rapid naming, reading, and working memory difficulties. Results indicated that in several patients with T-nTBDs diagnostic APhD patterns potentially different from those of aphasia have been circumscribed and construed by brain lesions involving different but interacting components of the non-lexical route. Such findings are primary as well as decisive for the effective rehabilitation of patients with T-nTBSs.