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The comprehension of ambiguous idioms in aphasic patients
Cristina Cacciari1, Fabiola Reati, Maria Rosa Colombo
1Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Modena e Reggio-Emilia, Italy.
Abstract:
The ability to understand ambiguous idioms was assessed in 15 aphasic patients with preserved comprehension at a single word level. A string-to-word matching task was used. Patients were requested to choose one among four alternatives: a word associated with the figurative meaning of the idiom string; a word semantically associate with the last constituent of the idiom string; and two unrelated words. The results showed that patients' performance was impaired with respect to a group of matched controls, with patients showing a frontal and/or temporal lesion being the most impaired. A significant number of semantically associate errors were produced, suggesting an impairment of inhibition mechanisms and/or of recognition/activation of the idiomatic meaning.
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