Alexia and agraphia

Contrasting perspectives of J.-M. Charcot and J. Hughlings Jackson

Victor W. Henderson, MD, MS

From the Departments of Health Research and Policy (Epidemiology) and Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, CA.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Victor Henderson, Stanford University, 259 Campus Drive, mc 5405, Stanford, CA 94305-5405 vhenderson@stanford.edu.

Objective: To evaluate 19th-century concepts of cerebral localization for complex mental activities, focusing on alexia and agraphia in published writings of Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893) and John Hughlings Jackson (1835–1911).