title: Category-specific visual agnosia: lesion to semantic memory versus extra-lesional variables in a case study and a connectionist model.
abstract: There is a current debate on the causes of category-specific agnosia. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of lesional and extra-lesional variables on object recognition. Extra-lesional variables, such as visual complexity or familiarity, are factors that influence recognition. Using a connectionist model based on study, we provide evidence that extra-lesional variables can yield dissociations in the recognition rate of different categories. Furthermore, it is shown that lesional and extra-lesional variables can interact (p < .01) when both are simultaneously modeled. Category-specific agnosia might thus result from complex interactions.
authors.affiliation: Service de Neurologie et de Neuropsychologie, Hôpital de la Timone, Marseille and Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie et de Neuropsychologie, Inserm EMI-U 9926, Faculté de Médecine, 13385 Marseille 05, France. emmanuel.barbeau@medecine.univ-mrs.fr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barbeau
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giusiano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000377:Agnosia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed