PubMed · 15400059
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A B REESE, F C BLODI. 1950. Retinal dysphasia.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9394(50)90695-7
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A central question in cognitive neuroscience concerns the extent to which language enables other higher cognitive functions. In the case of mathematics, the resources of the language faculty, both lexical and syntactic, have been claimed to be important for exact calculation, and some functional brain imaging studies have shown that calculation is associated with activation of a network of left-hemisphere language regions, such as the angular gyrus and the banks of the intraparietal sulcus. We investigate the integrity of mathematical calculations in three men with large left-hemisphere perisylvian lesions. Despite severe grammatical impairment and some difficulty in processing phonological and orthographic number words, all basic computational procedures were intact across patients. All three patients solved mathematical problems involving recursiveness and structure-dependent operations (for example, in generating solutions to bracket equations). To our knowledge, these results demonstrate for the first time the remarkable independence of mathematical calculations from language grammar in the mature cognitive system.
There is a growing body of evidence showing that a word's cognate status is an important dimension affecting the naming performance of bilingual speakers. In a recent article, Kohnert extended this observation to the naming performance of an aphasic bilingual (DJ). DJ named pictures with cognate names more accurately than pictures with non-cognate names. Furthermore, having named the pictures in Spanish helped the subsequent retrieval (with a delay of one week between the two tests) of the same pictures' names in English, but only for pictures with cognate names. That is, there was a language transfer but only for those translation words that were phonologically similar. In this article we first evaluate the conclusions drawn from these results by Kohnert, and second we discuss the theoretical implications of the facilitatory effects of cognate words for models of speech production in bilingual speakers.
INTRODUCTION: At the end of an endurance training program for stroke patients with hemiplegia, we offered a hiking tour around the Mont Blanc Pedestrian Tour. We found no publication describing a similar experience and no scientific data in the literature to determine the physiological characteristics required for this performance, particularly regarding cardiac and vascular capacities, level of impairment, and functional abilities. OBJECTIVE: To complete a part of the Mont Blanc Pedestrian Tour over six days, with a group of adults with hemiparesis and aphasia due to stroke. POPULATION: Seven of 20 subjects with right hemiparesis and aphasia were selected on the basis of results of physiological tests, after an endurance training program and two tests hikes at medium altitude. Mean age was 51.71 +/- 7.13 years, mean VO(2max) 19.76 +/- 3.46 ml.g(-1).mm(-1), mean P(max) 90 +/- 22.68 and mean walking speed 3.60 +/- 1.30 km/hour. ORGANIZATION: Organization involved setting up the itinerary, recruiting accompanying personnel (9 people), and arranging security. No specific adaptations for accessibility were available, and no specific equipment was used, except for standard walking sticks. RESULTS: During this pedestrian tour, the subjects demonstrated strong motivation, as well as exceptional physical and functional performance, despite significant changes in elevation (up to 1500 m per day) and long walking times (from 5 to 9 hours per day). DISCUSSION: This experience has enriched our reflection about the medical, functional, and psychological conditions required for this type of physical effort, both from patients and accompanying personnel. In the absence of reports on similar experiences with this patient population, we thought it interesting, six months after this challenge, to present our observations as well as the patients' point of view. This may encourage other rehabilitation teams to offer intensive walking activities for stroke patients.