The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

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ArticleTitle	Cognitive rehabilitation for selective semantic memory impairments
Language	J
AuthorList	Motoichiro Kato, Fumihiro Yishino, Fumie Saito
Affiliation	Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine
Publication	Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 18 (3), 163-170, 2002
Received
Accepted
Abstract	In contrast to the numerous contributions to the cognitive training of episodic memory disorder in amnesic syndrome, few are devoted to the study of rehabilitation or recovery of semantic memory impairment in the patient with left temporal lobe pathology. We presented the cognitive rehabilitation for selective semantic memory impairments in a patient with left temporal lobe damages. He had recovered from herpes simplex virus encephalitis and suffered from category specific semantic deficits restricted to man-made food and living things such as vegetables, fruits and animals, without anterograde memory impairments. In order to retrieve the semantic information about man-made food, vegetables, and fruits, the patient underwent the everyday life direct training during six months, in which he was requested to draw the foods in detail and was given the semantic knowledge from his wife, whenever he had his meal. The patient did not benefit from this cognitive rehabilitation program, as a similar semantic memory loss was detected in pre- and post-therapy test sessions. These findings demonstrated that direct stimulation training was not effective in the patients who showed category specific semantic deficits without anterograde amnesia.
Keywords	Cognitive rehabilitation, selective semantic memory impairment, direct training, living category, man-made food