Semantic errors in naming, repetition, spelling and drawing from memory: a new Italian case

Semantic errors in aphasic patients are frequent and their study has helped understanding the structure and processing of the lexical/semantic system. Most of the patients with semantic errors in reading and writing are English-speaking and it has been argued that this depends on the type of the orthographic systems: in opaque orthographies semantic errors are more frequent than in transparent orthographies. The paper reports the case of an Italian patient, AM, with semantic damage and semantic errors in comprehension and production tasks, except reading aloud. AM was also impaired in non-word repetition and writing but his reading of non-words was only mildly impaired. The absence of semantic errors in reading and the co-occurring absence of severe damage to the non-lexical reading route is consistent with interaction between lexical and non-lexical processing. The discussion addresses the question of the relative frequency of semantic errors in reading and writing tasks in languages with different types of orthographies.