Numerical abilities in dementia

Girelli, Luisa; Delazer, Margarete

doi:10.1080/02687040143000122

Cited by 29 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Computational processes such as those required to answer a division problem by reversing the corresponding multiplication problem may be effortful especially for individuals with reduced attentional and executive resources [35]. The present findings are in line with previous studies suggesting different processes at work on different arithmetic operations [36], as well as with investigations pointing to the relative preservation of arithmetic knowledge in MCI [18] and in mild dementia [6].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: Effects of shifting and interference in simple arithmetic

Zamarian

Semenza

Domahs

et al. 2007

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Attentional and executive deficits appear early in DAT, after impairments in episodic memory but before visuo-spatial and language disorders [3]. Among the first signs of DAT, deficits in more abstract numerical processing -e.g., dot counting, written complex calculation -have also been reported [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: Effects of shifting and interference in simple arithmetic

Zamarian

Semenza

Domahs

et al. 2007

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

Self Cite

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“…Overall, age effects in arithmetic tasks should be interpreted with caution. In the present study, although the higher error rates of the older subjects may reflect intrinsic numerical difficulties, we cannot exclude the role of decreasing attentive resources and poorer working memory in determining the age decline observed in the more complex tasks (e.g., text problem solving; Girelli & Delazer, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Number Processing and Calculation – Normative Data from Healthy Adults

Delazer¹,

Girelli²,

Granà³

et al. 2003

The Clinical Neuropsychologist

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Despite the high incidence of numerical deficits in neurological patients, little attention has been paid to the development of diagnostic tools. In fact, most of the published reports on acquired numerical disorders, whether single case or group studies, do not refer to standardised measures of performance providing little, if any, control data specifically collected for the examination. In this study we present data of 282 healthy controls of different age groups and educational levels in a new battery of Number Processing and Calculation (NPC). The NPC battery includes a total of 35 tasks, assessing different counting abilities, various aspects of number comprehension (such as parity and magnitude judgements), numerical transcoding, calculation, arithmetic reasoning and conceptual knowledge. Special attention is paid to the assessment of different calculation abilities, including simple fact retrieval, rule based processing, mental calculation and written calculation in all four operations. Moreover, text problem solving is assessed as well as the understanding of arithmetic principles. Thus, the NPC battery differs from the EC 301 battery proposed by Deloche et al., 1994 (Dellatolas, Deloche, Basso, & Claros-Salinas, 2001) and allows a more fine grained diagnosis which is relevant for planning targeted interventions. The battery is easy to administer and does not require special materials or equipment.

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“…Although an increasing number of studies have explored numerical abilities in patients with Alzheimer's disease (e.g., Girelli, Luzzatti, Annoni, & Vecchi, 1999; Mantovan, Delazer, Ermani, & Denes, 1999; Noel & Seron, 1993, 1995; see Girelli & Delazer, 2001 for a review), far fewer have done so in patients with semantic dementia (e.g., Cappelletti, Butterworth, & Kopelman, 2001, 2006; Crutch & Warrington, 2002; Diesfelt, 1992; Julien, Thompson, Neary, & Snowden, 2008; Julien, Neary, & Snowden, 2010). Moreover, to date, there are no studies on patients with progressive aphasia and there are only very few investigating numerical processing in patients with the frontal variant of frontotemporal dementia, which focused primarily on arithmetical skills and on dot counting (e.g., Halpern et al, 2004; Crutch & Warrington, 2002).…”

Section: Numeracy Skills In Patients With Degenerative Brain Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numeracy skills in patients with degenerative disorders and focal brain lesions: A neuropsychological investigation.

2012

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Objective: To characterize the numerical profile of patients with acquired brain disorders. Method: We investigated numeracy skills in 76 participants—40 healthy controls and 36 patients with neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer dementia, frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia, progressive aphasia) and with focal brain lesions affecting parietal, frontal, and temporal areas as in herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). All patients were tested with the same comprehensive battery of paper-and-pencil and computerized tasks assessing numerical abilities and calculation. Degenerative and HSE patients also performed nonnumerical semantic tasks. Results: Our results, based on nonparametric group statistics as well as on the analysis of individual patients, and all highly significant, show that: (a) all patients, including those with parietal lesions—a key brain area for numeracy processing—had intact processing of number quantity; (b) patients with impaired semantic knowledge had much better preserved numerical knowledge; and (c) most patients showed impaired calculation skills, with the exception of most semantic dementia and HSE patients. Conclusion: Our results allow us, for the first time, to characterize the numeracy skills in patients with a variety of neurological conditions and to suggest that the pattern of numerical performance can vary considerably across different neurological populations. Moreover, the selective sparing of calculation skills in most semantic dementia and HSE suggest that numerical abilities are an independent component of the semantic system. Finally, our data suggest that, besides the parietal areas, other brain regions might be critical to the understanding and processing of numerical concepts.

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Numerical abilities in dementia

Cited by 29 publications

References 44 publications

Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: Effects of shifting and interference in simple arithmetic

Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: Effects of shifting and interference in simple arithmetic

Number Processing and Calculation – Normative Data from Healthy Adults

Numeracy skills in patients with degenerative disorders and focal brain lesions: A neuropsychological investigation.

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