NAMING IMPAIRMENT FOR MAN-MADE OBJECTS IN A CASE OF HERPES-ENCEPHALITIS

We report the naming performances of a 25 year-old woman with a left i nternal and inferior temporal lesion caused by herpes encephalitis who showed a preferential impairment for naming man-made objects. Evidenc e for category-specific effect was provided by a stepwise logistic reg ression using 171 pictures characterized by several parameters (words frequency, diversity of responses, length, name agreement majoritary r esponse, familiarity, visual complexity and canonicity). Analyses were realized over a 5 month period. Methodological considerations, anatom ic correlations and arguments suggesting lexical access or semantic st orage disturbance are discussed.