Testing for nominal dysphasia

Abstract

In this paper we have described the construction of a graded naming test that makes the distinction between object and proper names. This distinction was prompted by a single case study of a patient who showed a specific naming impairment for a particular class of proper names. Naming vocabulary was found to be highly correlated with other measures of verbal intelligence and we have discussed the use of the graded naming test as a tool for clinical assessment and diagnosis. The results of the naming test of the left hemisphere group showed that category-specific naming impairment along the object/proper name distinction is relatively uncommon in any gross form. Object naming was most impaired in patients with lesions of the temporal lobe.