Semantic-autobiological memory interactions in severe semantic dementia: Acase study

We analyzed the residual knowledge of a patient (GC) with severe semantic d e mentia who presented, in 1994, a category-specific disorder affecting ani mals. In 1997, semantic representations for animals were lost but GC could still perform some tasks concerning animals on the basis of autobiographica l memory. The assessment of contemporary and past autobiographical vs seman tic memory (faces and places) showed a continuum with loss of semantic info rmations and relative preservation of "contemporary" autobiographical infor mations with regard to "past" ones. We discuss the existence of a dynamic s emantic system with a continual interaction between autobiographical and se mantic memory. (C) 1999 Academic Press.