Disentangling the Web: Neologistic Perseverative Errors in Jargon Aphasia

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between the neologisms and perseverative errors produced by KVH, a man with severe neologistic jargon aphasia. Detailed examination of KVH's level of language processing breakdown revealed mild difficulties with phonological encoding and severe difficulties accessing the lexical form of the word. Many of KVH's neologisms contained phonemes perseverated from previous neologisms, suggesting an integral relationship between the production of neologisms and the perseveration of phonemes. Furthermore, KVH's patterns of whole word (total)and phonological (blended) perseverations reflected his proposed underlying language processing deficits, consistent with recent literature on perseveration (e.g.,Cohen and Dehaene, 1998). However, the simple binary distinction oftotalandblendedperseveration is proposed to be somewhat limited for understanding the underlying nature of KVH's complex neologistic errors. Possible explanations regarding the mechanisms underlying the production of KVH's neologistic and perseverative errors also are discussed.

Attentional dysfunction and word-finding difficulties are related to semantic jargon after a thalamic lesion: a case report

“…Several hypotheses have posited mechanisms underlying jargon aphasia. Some researchers have stressed that perseveration is crucial for the development of jargon aphasia (Butterworth, 1979;Green, 1969;Moses, Nickels, & Sheard, 2004). This was not the case for our patient, however, because the proportion of perseveration at each stage was quite small, with a maximum of 5% at year 2 post onset.…”

“Like déjà vu all over again”: Patterns of perseveration in two people with jargon aphasia

“…The second (also known as partial perseveration) refers to the perseveration of part of a previous word or non-word, with the remaining phonological material being derived from other sources, such as the target or lexical competitors (ibid.). This type of perseveration is particularly associated with the non-word output of people with jargon aphasia (Buckingham 1990;Butterworth 1979Butterworth & 1992Moses et al 2004bMoses et al & 2007a. It is also widely accepted that perseveration can occur over varying distances, with some responses repeated immediately after the source, and others recurring after much longer intervals (Martin, Roach, Brecher & Lowery 1998).…”

“…, 2007b) had a lexical impairment but produced mainly blended perseverations. The existence of total non-word perseveration is also problematic, since according to the above theory, total perseveration will involve the substitution of a previous word for a currently unavailable target (Hirsh 1998;Moses et al 2004bMoses et al , 2007b). …”

“…The first refers to the perseveration of a whole word or non-word (Hirsh 1998;Moses, Nickels & Sheard 2004b & c). The second (also known as partial perseveration) refers to the perseveration of part of a previous word or non-word, with the remaining phonological material being derived from other sources, such as the target or lexical competitors (ibid.).…”

“…Another explanation appeals to the notion of stereotyped phonology. It has been suggested that some speakers have a pool of "default" segments that fill gaps in the event of retrieval failure, with repeated use of these phonemes producing highly perseverative speech (Robson 1997;Moses et al 2004b). These "default" segments may be available because of their very high frequency in the language.…”