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A standard model of word reading postulates that visual information is initially processed by occipitotemporal areas contralateral to the stimulated hemifield, from whence it is subsequently transferred to the visual word form (VWF) system, a left inferior temporal region specifically devoted to the processing of letter strings. For stimuli displayed in the left visual field, this transfer proceeds from the right to the left hemisphere through the posterior portion of the corpus callosum. In order to characterize the spatial and temporal organization of these processes, reading tasks with split-field presentation were performed by five control subjects and by two patients suffering from left hemialexia following posterior callosal lesions. The subjects' responses were studied using behavioural measures and functional brain imaging techniques, providing both high spatial resolution (functional MRI, fMRI) and high temporal …