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Effects of structural similarity and name frequency on picture naming in Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 1999

SHARON L. THOMPSON-SCHILL ,
JOHN D. E. GABRIELI  and
DEBRA A. FLEISCHMAN
SHARON L. THOMPSON-SCHILL
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
JOHN D. E. GABRIELI
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Stanford University Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
DEBRA A. FLEISCHMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
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Abstract

Impairments to either perceptual or word-retrieval processes have been hypothesized to explain confrontation naming impairments in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study measured the effects of structural similarity, which affects perceptual processing, and name frequency, which affects word retrieval, on naming latency and accuracy in 16 AD patients and 16 age-matched controls. AD patients named pictures more slowly and made more errors than control participants. Their naming accuracy was disproportionately affected by name frequency, but not by structural similarity. The findings indicate that the processing of structural properties of objects is unaffected in early-stage AD, and suggest that word-retrieval impairments underlie the naming deficit in AD. (JINS, 1999, 5, 659–667.)

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseaseAnomiaFrequencyPerceptual
Type
THEMATIC ARTICLES
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 5 , Issue 7 , November 1999 , pp. 659 - 667
Copyright
© 1999 The International Neuropsychological Society

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