title: On the nature of naming errors in aging and dementia: a study of semantic relatedness.
abstract: This study investigated the nature of naming errors produced on the Boston Naming Test by patients with mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) and elderly and young controls, using a newly devised scoring system. This new approach involved ratings of error responses on a scale of semantic relatedness to the target name. Error responses of both mild and moderate AD subjects were no less semantically related to target names than were responses of age- and education-matched controls. We conclude that some available evidence of semantic loss in AD may be an artifact of the methodology chosen for evaluating naming errors.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Obler
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Au
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Albert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012660:Semantics