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1 - Semantic refractory access disorders

from Part I - Semantic Memory: Building Models from Lesions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2009

By
Elizabeth K. Warrington  and
Sebastian J. Crutch
Edited by
John Hart  and
Michael A. Kraut
Elizabeth K. Warrington
Affiliation:
University College London
Sebastian J. Crutch
Affiliation:
University College London
John Hart
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Dallas
Michael A. Kraut
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
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Summary

Every individual has a vast thesaurus of conceptual knowledge. The cerebral organization of this knowledge base has intrigued philosophers for centuries and experimental psychologists for decades. By studying patients with brain lesions, neuropsychologists have been able to provide a powerful and direct source of evidence of the properties and organization of this conceptual knowledge base. This thesaurus is multifarious, encompassing words, objects, facts, people, places, and much more. In this chapter we will examine one particular neurological syndrome, “semantic refractory access dysphasia,” and hope to demonstrate that patients with this disorder can provide a window on the organization of conceptual knowledge.

The original studies of semantic memory impairment were concerned to establish the selectivity of the deficit, especially with regard to the integrity of other cognitive systems. The boundaries with episodic memory, propositional language, and perceptual systems were all explored (Warrington, 1975). However, these early studies of semantic memory impairment did not attempt to differentiate between impairments of access to an intact knowledge base and damage to or loss of stored conceptual knowledge itself. “Storage” deficits are attributed to damage to the central representations of concepts, resulting in a static/stable, consistent, item-specific, loss of knowledge. Such storage deficits can be contrasted with what are termed “access” deficits, which reflect the temporary unavailability of stored representations. We wish to clarify at the outset that the term “access” is not used to refer to impairments of transmission of input between different cognitive domains but rather to the instability of activation within a system.

Keywords

conceptual knowledgefine-grain semantic organizationgeographical knowledgeneurological syndromesemantic refractory access dysphasiasemantic domains
Type
Chapter
Information
Neural Basis of Semantic Memory , pp. 3 - 27
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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