title: Semantic memory deficit with a left thalamic infarct.
abstract: Previous studies of patients with thalamic lesions have reported consistent word finding difficulties without a proposed etiology. The authors describe a patient with a focal left thalamic infarct, pronounced word finding problems, and a relatively selective impairment in semantic memory for object recall from features. The thalamus is proposed to facilitate electrical activity between brain regions that encode object features, resulting in object recall. Thalamic dysfunction disrupting object recall is a plausible etiology for impaired word finding in some patients.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kraut
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D007600:Judgment; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000208:ethnology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014481:United States