Nominal Aphasia in Dementia

Abstract

The clinical examination of nominal aphasia has hitherto involved relatively unstandardized procedures. Random objects are presented to patients and account taken of their success or failure in finding the correct name (Allison, 1962). Recent work by Newcombe, Oldfield and Wingfield (1965) and Rochford and Williams (1962–1965) has drawn attention to a number of important variables affecting the likelihood of a correct response occurring. Oldfield (1966) in particular has presented a model of the psychological processes involved in object naming which raises a number of important theoretical questions concerning the nature of the deficit in nominal aphasia.