期刊名称：Revue de Neuropsychologie Neurosciences Cognitives et Cliniques
印刷版ISSN：2101-6739
电子版ISSN：2102-6025
出版年度：2009
卷号：1
期号：4
页码：299-311
DOI：10.1684/nrp.2009.0046
出版社：John Libbey Eurotext
摘要：Figures See all figures Authors Geneviève Le Bel Beauchesne , Joël Macoir , Nathalie Bier Université Laval, Québec, Canada, Centre de recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard, Québec, Canada, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada Key words: semantic memory, numerical abilities, calculation, semantic dementia DOI : 10.1684/nrp.2009.0046 Page(s) : 299-311 Published in: 2009 Semantic dementia (SD) is characterized by a progressive decline of concepts in semantic memory but seems to leave unscathed the semantic processing of numbers as well as the ability to solve arithmetic problems. However, this selective preservation, which is one of the supportive diagnostic features, seems to vary among individuals affected by SD. In this article, we first present briefly numerical abilities and theoretical models of number processing. Secondly, we present a review of the literature on studies related to the preservation of numerical abilities in SD patients. Third, we report the case of SC, a patient with SD in which numerical abilities were tracked over 21 months in three testing periods at approximately 10-month intervals. Although SC’s performance in tasks exploring semantic representations of object concepts drastically declined, he remained unaffected in various tasks tapping number processing, calculation, and number knowledge. In the lights of these results and of evidence from the literature, we discuss the hypothesis about the independence of numerical skills from semantic memory and cognition. Finally, we establish links between the preservation of numerical abilities in SD and neuroanatomical data, and we suggest directions for future research in the domain.
