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Abstract:
Acalculia refers to disorders involving number recognition
and arithmetical calculations. We present a detailed case study of
a patient with a selective loss of number comprehension and
calculation without other substantial cognitive disorders. MC is a
64-year-old woman with a left MCA infarct. MRI shows minimal left
frontal abnormalities. MC's processing of words and letters are
within normal limits. She has no deficits in part-whole processing
associated with spatial and attentional problems. However, MC has a
multimodal impairment in number processing. She can match letters,
numbers, and complex patterns, but her number performance is
impaired compared to normals. Some number estimation capabilities
and quantity relationships are preserved, but she has no
understanding of partial or complex quantities. Her only use of
numbers is within the context of her life (e.g., weight). Further,
MC has a profound loss of mathematical rules, stored facts, and
various other processes necessary for calculation. We discuss these
results in terms of theories of number processing.
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