Elsevier

Cortex

Volume 38, Issue 3, 2002, Pages 389-399
Cortex

Note
Preserved Calculation Skills in a Case of Semantic Dementia

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70667-1Get rights and content

Abstract

We present the case of a patient, BET, with a profound semantic dementia who shows a selective preservation of many aspects of number knowledge. In the context of an otherwise global loss of visual and verbal semantic knowledge, our patient demonstrates relatively intact number processing and numerical calculation in both the verbal and visual domain. More remarkably, BET is able to harness her intact calculation skills to number problem solving tasks. Our report provides further evidence that high-level non-verbal reasoning may persist in the absence of any viable language skills.

References (32)

  • G Gainotti et al.

    Focal brain lesions and intelligence: A study with a new version of Raven's Colored Matrices

    Journal of Clinical Experimental Neuropsychology

    (1986)
  • H Hécaen et al.

    Etude anatomo-clinique de 280 cas de lésions retro-rolandiques unilatérales des hémisphères cérébraux. Variations semeiologiques en fonction du lieu et de l'etendue de la lésion

    Encephale

    (1961)
  • H Hécaen et al.

    Les variétés cliniques des acalculies au cours des lésions retro-rolandiques: Approche statistique du problême

    Revue Neurologique

    (1961)
  • M Hittmair-Delazer et al.

    Concepts and facts in calculation

    Brain

    (1994)
  • M Jackson et al.

    Arithmetic skills in patients with unilateral cerebral lesions

    Cortex

    (1986)
  • A Jammot

    Countdown

    (1982)
  • Cited by (55)

    • Numbers, calculation and acalculia

      2021, Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience: Second Edition
    • Dissociation of quantifiers and object nouns in speech in focal neurodegenerative disease

      2016, Neuropsychologia
      Citation Excerpt :

      Several reports have described greater semantic impairment for concrete than for abstract concepts in svPPA (Bonner et al., 2009; Breedin et al., 1998; Cousins, et al., 2016; Papagno et al., 2009; Reilly, Grossman, and McCawley, 2006; Warrington, 1975), a phenomenon known as reversal of the concreteness effect. In contrast, number and quantifier comprehension in svPPA have been reported to be relatively well preserved (Cappelletti et al., 2001, 2006; Crutch and Warrington, 2002; Halpern et al., 2004; Julien et al., 2010). In the present study of natural speech production, we elicited a semi-structured speech sample by asking individuals to describe a kitchen scene.

    • Knowing what and where: TMS evidence for the dual neural basis of geographical knowledge

      2016, Cortex
      Citation Excerpt :

      Typically, the functions of the ATL “semantic” system and the IPS “magnitude” system are highly dissociable. Patients with ATL damage, for example, exhibit preserved understanding of numerical magnitude (Cappelletti, Butterworth, & Kopelman, 2001; Cappelletti, Kopelman, Morton, & Butterworth, 2005; Crutch & Warrington, 2002; Diesfeldt, 1993; Jefferies, Patterson, Jones, Bateman, & Lambon Ralph, 2004) and are able to estimate quantities accurately (Julien, Thompson, Neary, & Snowden, 2010), despite severe deficits in knowledge for objects and words. Conversely, parietal damage is frequently associated with dyscalculia but relative preservation of verbal semantic knowledge (Dehaene & Cohen, 1997; Delazer, Karner, Zamarian, Donnemiller, & Benke, 2006; Kas et al., 2011).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text