Elsevier

Cortex

Volume 31, Issue 1, March 1995, Pages 73-86
Cortex

Selective Impairment in Manipulating Arabic Numerals*

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(13)80106-2Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper describes an acalculic patient (B.A.L.) with an unusual selective deficit in manipulating arabic numerals. The patient was unimpaired in reading aloud letters, words and written number names but unable to read aloud single arabic numerals. Furthermore, his ability to produce the next number in the sequence and his ability to produce answers to simple addition and subtraction was relatively spared when the stimuli were presented as number names but impaired when the stimuli were presented as arabic numerals. Using magnitude comparison tasks it was demonstrated that his knowledge of cardinal values of arabic numerals was preserved. His impairment in manipulating arabic numerals was interpreted in terms of a deficit in the connection between format specific number codes and the verbal numeral production system.

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    *

    Preliminary version of this study was presented at the International Neuropsychological Society meeting in Madeira (June, 1993).

    1

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT.

    2

    Lisa Cipolotti, Departement of Psychology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1, U.K.

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