The selective impairment of arithmetical procedures.

Full Abstract

The theoretical distinction between arithmetic facts and procedures was first made by Groen and Parkman (1972). This was confirmed with a neuropsychological single case described by Warrington (1982) who had impaired arithmetical facts but well preserved arithmetical procedures. Since this time there have been several patients described who showed a selective impairment of arithmetic facts. There have also been reports of cases with impaired arithmetical procedures. However, there has not yet been a case reported with the selective impairment of procedures in the context of intact arithmetic facts. This paper describes a patient, SR, with probable Alzheimer's dementia who had well preserved addition, multiplication and subtraction facts but who nevertheless had severe difficulties with a range of arithmetical procedures such as multidigit sums, decimals and fractions. The implications of this case for current theoretical models are discussed.

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Author information

Author/s: McNeil, Jane E (JE); Burgess, Paul W (PW);

Affiliation: Regional Neurological Rehabilitation Unit, Homerton Hospital, London, UK. jane.mcneil@homerton.nhs.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Case Reports; Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior (Cortex), published in Italy. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Sep; vol 38 (issue 4) : pp 569-87

Dates: Created 2002/12/05; Completed 2003/02/12; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12465669, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; psychology
Humans
Male

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