Neuropsychological Aspects of Illiteracy

The study of subjects who never learn the written representation of language is important because it allows us (1) to understand how oral language processing can be modified through learning a grapheme–phoneme matching operation, (2) to understand if different areas of the brain are involved in the processing of oral language when comparing literate and illiterate subjects, (3) to identify adequate neuropsychological instruments to assess cognitive dysfunction due to brain lesions in poorly educated persons, and (4) to study possible alternative cognitive strategies spontaneously developed by illiterate subjects that may be useful for rehabilitation. Results from the literature are reviewed and new data from our current research in this field are reported.