Is Surface Dysgraphia Tied to Semantic Impairment? Evidence from a Case of Semantic Dementia

Recent models of lexical processing suggest that written spelling partly depends upon the semantic system. According to these models, a deterioration in word meanings would necessarily lead to a spelling impairment, especially for low-frequency and orthographically irregular words. We report a case...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain and cognition 2002-03, Vol.48 (2-3), p.452-457
Main Authors: MACOIR, Joël, BERNIER, Johanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Agraphia - diagnosis
Agraphia - etiology
Agraphia - therapy
Atrophy - pathology
Biological and medical sciences
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Female
Humans
Language Tests
Medical sciences
Memory Disorders - complications
Memory Disorders - diagnosis
Neurology
Neuropsychological Tests
Organic mental disorders. Neuropsychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Semantics
Severity of Illness Index
Temporal Lobe - pathology
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Summary:Recent models of lexical processing suggest that written spelling partly depends upon the semantic system. According to these models, a deterioration in word meanings would necessarily lead to a spelling impairment, especially for low-frequency and orthographically irregular words. We report a case study of a patient (MK) with semantic dementia who presents impairments in knowledge of word meanings and surface dysgraphia. By specifically identifying concepts that are still known or that are partially or completely deteriorated, we show that the patient's spelling deficit is highly correlated with word comprehension. These data confirm that surface dysgraphia is directly linked to the breakdown in semantic memory.
ISSN:0278-2626
1090-2147
DOI:10.1006/brcg.2001.1397