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Can 'football-team color-code' compensate for anomia? The case study of FN, a patient with color anomia.

A case study is reported on large ischemic infracts involving cortical and subcortical areas of the parietal lobes bilaterally, especially left temporo-parietal and right parietal. On examination, the diagnosis of vascular dementia with color anomia, optic aphasia for colors, was established. The patient (FN) showed great difficulty in understanding a scene as a whole and in describing complex scenes. FN's oral comprehension skills at word and sentence level were satisfactory and he exhibited communicative effectiveness during conversation. He could read letter by letter, but could not make simple judgments of shapes. FN exhibited a marked inability to name colors presented to him visually and to indicate or point to the color requested from the examiner. The most interesting of all the patient's characteristics was the strategy--a football-team color-code--he had developed for compensating for his inability to name colors.

Anomia↗

Proper name anomia and anomia for the names of people: functionally dissociable impairments?

This paper reviews the performance of 10 previously reported patients who have deficits in recalling the names of people, but whose performance in recalling common names is relatively well preserved. An analysis of face naming ability in these 10 patients reveals that the proportion of faces that a patient can name is closely related to whether or not the patient has a retrieval problem that also extends to the recall of other types of proper names such as the names of towns. This analysis suggests that names of faces are particularly difficult to recall relative to other types of proper names, and provides no support for the view that a specialised brain mechanism is involved in the retrieval of people's names.

Anomia↗

Anomia with and without lexical comprehension disorders.

Anomic patients are usually described as free from language comprehension disorders, but the status of lexical comprehension in anomia is still controversial. Most anomic patients are impaired on tasks of semantic-lexical discrimination, but some of them do not present clear signs of semantic-lexical deficit at the receptive level. The aim of the present research was to elucidate the nature of word-finding disturbances by contrasting results obtained by anomic patients with and without lexical comprehension disorders on a number of variables, namely severity of anomia, implicit knowledge of words that patients failed to name, presence of verbal-semantic paraphasias, and scores obtained on a test of phoneme discrimination and on the "Token Test." The results of our investigation seem to suggest that there are two types of anomia, caused by the impairment of two different sets of mechanisms. In "purely expressive anomia" the locus of defect seems to be near to the stage in which the selected lexical item is specified into the appropriate phonological form. In "anomia with lexical comprehension disturbances" the locus of defect seems to be much deeper within the lexicon, so that the semantic disorder affects both the expressive and the receptive levels in a roughly comparable manner.

Adult↗

Contextual priming in semantic anomia: a case study.

The present case continues the series of anomia treatment studies with contextual priming (CP), being the second in-depth treatment study conducted for an individual suffering from semantically based anomia. Our aim was to acquire further evidence of the facilitation and interference effects of the CP treatment on semantic anomia. Based on the results of the study of , our hypothesis before the treatment was that our participant would show short-term interference and at most modest and short-term benefit from treatment. To acquire such evidence would not only be important for the choice of anomia treatment methods in individual patients, but would also prompt further development of the CP method. The CP technique used for our participant included cycles of repeating and naming items in three contextual conditions (semantic, phonological, and unrelated). As predicted, the overall improvement of naming was modest and short-term. Interestingly, the contextual condition that corresponded with the nature of our patient's underlying naming deficit (semantic) elicited immediate interference in the form of contextual naming errors, as well as short-term improvement of naming. Based on this and a recent study by , it appears that despite short-term positive effects, in its current form the CP treatment is not sufficient for those aphasics who have a semantic deficit underlying their anomia. The possible mechanism and directions for future research are discussed.

Aged↗

The impact of anomia as a factor in a demand resource model of health.

The particular aim of the present study was to explore the interrelations between the construct of anomia, conceptualized as internal health demand or resource, and self-reported ill-health in the framework of a demand resource model. The four main constructs of this model were considered as recursive causal levels: (1) socio-economic data, (2) external resources/demands, (3) internal resources/ demands, and (4) ill-health. Study statistics comprised graphical models to reveal the relations between variables using the statistical program DIGRAM designed for discrete graphical models. This method of data analysis permits a focus on the link between anomia and the other three levels. The function of anomia as an intermediate data level which might prove to be an intervening variable can be evaluated. A total of 440 subjects of a random community sample were included in the final analysis. In the framework of a demand resource model, it was possible to confirm that the construct of anomia plays a key role in health outcome. Graphical models showed that a low degree of anomia is related to high psychological quality of life and few psychosomatic symptoms on the one hand, and to good social integration and emotional support, a low amount of daily hassles and high educational level on the other hand. As an overall conclusion, it can be stated that the evaluation by the graphical modeling procedure permits a good fit of theory with methods.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Comparing fixed- and randomized-interval spaced retrieval in anomia treatment.

UNLABELLED: Spaced retrieval (SR) has recently been modified to target anomia in persons with aphasia (PWA). It relies on a strict management of the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) where the time between stimulus presentations is doubled or halved based on response accuracy. Although SR is successful in treating anomia, it remains to be studied whether the strict ISI management is necessary. The present study compared fixed-interval spaced retrieval (FISR) to randomized-interval spaced retrieval (RISR) in anomia treatment. Using alternating treatments single subject design, three PWA were trained to name 30 target items. Although both treatments were successful, the present data did not reveal one approach as superior even though fewer FISR sessions were needed and more FISR items were maintained on the post-treatment probes. This difference was only minimal suggesting that a less stringent stimulus schedule, as used in RISR, is sufficient for successful treatment outcome. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers will be able to describe the spaced retrieval treatment approach using both fixed- and randomized-interval stimulus schedules, as well as applications of this technique in the treatment of anomia in aphasia.

Aged↗

Exploring the relationship between proper name anomia and word retrieval: a single case study.

We report the results of an investigation of the spoken word retrieval abilities of a patient, BG, with proper name anomia. Our investigations reveal that she is impaired in retrieving common nouns as well as proper names. Common noun retrieval was influenced by age-of-acquisition, word familiarity and name agreement. Cued retrieval of proper names was influenced by age-of-acquisition, although effects of other linguistic variables were not excluded. It is claimed that an explanation in terms of a 'continuum of word retrieval difficulty' rather than of proper names as 'pure referring expressions' can best account for the findings. However, this proposal is unlikely to be able to explain all cases of proper name anomia. Nonetheless, it is suggested that similar findings may be observed in other people with proper name anomia, and that it is necessary for future studies to investigate not only proper name but also common noun retrieval. We also provide evidence that Plausible Phonology and Specificity hypotheses of proper name anomia cannot account for BG's naming abilities.

Aged↗

Computerised treatment of anomia in acute aphasia: treatment intensity and training size.

In this study we analysed the outcome of computer-assisted therapy (CAT) for anomia on eight acute aphasic patients. Since therapy for anomia generally leads to an item-specific effect, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether it is possible to enhance recovery from anomia by increasing the number of treated items. Two periods of five daily written-naming CAT sessions were compared: In one period the CAT included one set of 48 words (single list) and in the other period a double list of 96 items was treated. Seven out of eight patients improved in naming performance for treated items. Overall gains were superior after practising the double list, despite fewer item repetitions. These results suggest that the size of the effect of therapy for anomia depends more on the number of treated items than on the number of repetitions per item. The integration of these results within the framework of studies on intensity is discussed.

Acute Disease↗

Colour anomia resulting from weakened short-term colour memory. A case study.

A patient exhibited marked colour anomia without object anomia, but was able to point to named colours. Five experiments were conducted to investigate his immediate colour memory. It was concluded that his colour anomia was the result of an impaired short-term memory deficit specific to colour. Temporary activation of specific entries in the colour lexicon enabled pointing and even naming to take place. A general model incorporating all forms of colour anomia is presented.

Anomia↗

Relationship of anomia to perceived changes in financial status, 1973-1980.

Annual variations from 1973 to 1980 in the proportions of persons among representative samples of the United States population who indicated experiences of anomia (as assessed by the Srole anomia scale) were related significantly to the associated proportions of those persons who perceived adverse changes in their financial condition. These data suggest that changes in the economic conditions of a society may play an important role in societal integration, social solidarity, morale, and their behavioral correlates, such as suicide and various forms of psychopathology. These results are consistent with reported relationships of suicide rates to both anomia and economic conditions and with relationships of persons' perceived financial status to their experiences of anomia.

Anomie↗

Sociological and social-psychological correlates of anomia among a random sample of aged.

In this investigation the distribution of responses on an anomia index (Srole's anomia scale) was examined for a national probability sample of the elderly. Step-wise multiple regression procedures were used to determine the relative importance of the independent variables in explaining the variation of anomia. Of the zero-order correlations, the "sociological" variables, e.g., education, work status, occupational prestige, and yearly income, were the strongest correlates of anomia. The social psychological variables, viz., various attitudinal and perceptual phenomena, also exhibited reasonably strong correlations. Those variables labeled "activity/organizational," e.g., various indices of social engagement, revealed the lowest correlations. In step-wise regression analysis six statistically significant explanatory variables were, in descending order: (1) a judgement of one's relative financial standing, (2) city size, (3) race, (4) work status, (5) education, and (6) occupational prestige.

Aged↗

Anomia, self-esteem, and life satisfaction: interrelationships among three scales of well-being.

The extent to which anomia, self-esteem, and life satisfaction are conceptually distinct was studied by using factor analysis of the items from Srole's anomia scale, Rosenberg's scale of self-esteem, and the LSI-Z. The data came from interviews held with 1,332 older men living in nonmetropolitan areas of Iowa. The analysis demonstrated that, while the concepts of anomia and self-esteem are distinct, the domain of life satisfaction overlaps those of anomia and self-esteem. The representation of the five components of life satisfaction by the items of the LSI-Z is questioned, and caution in using the six-items version of Rosenberg's measure of self-esteem with older adults is suggested.

Aged↗

Age and anomia in middle and later life: a multivariate analysis of a national sample of white men.

Some social gerontologists have argued that the aged status in America results in distrust of and despair with the social order (anomia) independent of other determinants: lack of access to the means of achievement of life goals and social isolation. This argument was tested with a multivariate regression analysis utilizing data on 354 white men aged forty and older from the 1974 General Social Survey. The Srole anomia scale was used as the dependent variable. Multiple indicators of life chances and social participation were used; health and verbal intelligence were employed as controls. The results showed no relationship between age or other indicators of life chances and anomia, net of education and/or verbal intelligence. Prior studies reporting that age and anomia are causally related probably have done so due to lack of adequate control variables and/or due to cohort effects from the lesser education of the older population in the United States. Compared when employing appropriate controls, aged American males are not more anomic than middle-aged males.

Achievement↗

Anomia in moderate aphasia: problems in accessing the lexical representation.

This study has two objectives: (1) to determine through the analysis of surface manifestations of anomia whether one or several anomic syndromes exist, (2) to identify the psycholinguistic process at fault in anomia with reference to M. F. Garrett's (1982, in A. Ellis (Ed.), Normality and pathology in cognitive functions, London/New York: Academic Press) language production model. Two naming tasks were administered to 24 moderate aphasics. Test A was a standard naming task, and test B was a similar task which included subtests designed to indicate which level of representation was affected whenever patients did not name the target word. The subtests required, respectively, the identification of (a) a conceptual property, (b) two semantic attributes, (c) the first and (d) last syllable of the target word, and (e) the target word itself. Descriptive statistics yielded three groups of subjects different in terms of surface anomic manifestations, yet unrelated to clinical type of aphasia. Moreover, no significant differences between groups emerged on the subtests. All groups showed a good performance on the conceptual and the semantic subtests, suggesting preservation of high-level cognitive and semantic processes. In contrast, subjects evidenced poorer performances in syllabic identification, indicating a disruption of lower level mechanisms which are assumed to retrieve and process formal lexical representations. Results support the view that aphasic anomia originates from a difficulty in accessing the formal lexical representation and not from a semantic problem.

Adult↗

When is gender accessed? A study of paraphasias in Hebrew anomia.

This study explored access to grammatical gender during naming in Hebrew. Studies of anomia and tip-of-the-tongue states (TOT) found that speakers of various languages (Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch) have information about the grammatical gender of words they fail to retrieve. In Hebrew, on the other hand, a TOT study found that Hebrew speakers could not provide gender information. To test access to gender in single words in Hebrew we used an implicit measure--the analysis of paraphasias of anomic patients with respect to whether or not they preserved the grammatical gender of the target word. The rationale behind this measure was that when a paraphasia is created, it generally conforms to the partial knowledge the speaker has on the target word. If speakers have gender knowledge when they fail to name, they should produce paraphasias that match their partial information, and thus match the gender of the target. Such gender preservation in paraphasias was found in German for individuals with anomia, and in Arabic, French and German for slips of the tongue. Participants were 22 Hebrew-speaking aphasic patients with phonological, semantic or conceptual anomia, who produced 532 paraphasias. None of the participants showed gender preservation in their paraphasias. Even phonological anomics, who have access to semantic information, did not preserve grammatical gender in a single-word naming task. We suggest that this difference between Hebrew and previously studied languages relates to the fact that in Hebrew bare nouns are allowed, and therefore gender is not accessed in single-word naming, whereas in languages in which a noun should be produced as a full NP (with a determiner or case-marking for example) gender has to be accessed even in single-word tasks. We propose a hypothesis according to which gender is accessed if and only if the noun is incorporated into a syntactic tree (or a chunk of a tree) that includes an agreement phrase.

Adult↗

Anomia for people names in DAT--evidence for semantic and post-semantic impairments.

Proper name anomia is a frequent finding among patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The present study investigates naming of famous persons in a group of DAT patients, a group of persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls. The study is aimed at distinguishing the relative contributions of semantic and post-semantic factors to difficulties in proper name retrieval. As shown by a significantly lower score in answering semantic questions, DAT patients retrieve less biographical knowledge related to famous persons than healthy elderly subjects and persons with mild cognitive impairment. This finding is in line with the frequent observation of semantic deficits in early and moderate DAT. The high number of Tip-of-the-Tongue (TOT) answers in DAT found in relation to few spontaneously named items shows that post-semantic deficits are as important as semantic deficits in determining anomia for people names in DAT. Moreover, DAT patients were less sensitive to phonological cueing than healthy persons or persons with mild cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that proper name anomia in DAT is not only due to semantic deficits, but also to problems in accessing the phonological representation, as well as to a degradation of phonological representations. Thus, naming deficits in DAT differ not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively from the difficulties of healthy elderly persons. No significant differences were found between persons with mild cognitive impairment and healthy controls in proper name retrieval.

Aged↗

Anomia in major depressive state.

Anomia, or word finding difficulty, is a frequent clinical symptom of the depressive state. This study investigates naming and lexicalization processes (or word production processes) in 11 depressive patients (major depressive state), through a picture naming task of 53 images corresponding to low frequency words. Depressives showed significantly more anomia and made more naming errors (semantically related substitution words) than control subjects. Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states, which correspond to an impairment at a later stage of phonological encoding with partial activation of phonological shape, remained rare in depressives despite the increase of lexicalization difficulties observed. Anomia observed in depressives could thus be related to an impairment at the early stage of lexicalization or word production processes (pre-phonological item selection and access, or storage of the semantic lexical item in Working Memory for further phonological encoding), without lexical-semantic disorganization. We discuss the relationship between such an elementary speech production disorder and cognitive impairments demonstrated in the depressive state (deficit of effortful and attentional processes, impairment in activation or initiation of cognitive processes and responses).

Adult↗