Semantic memory impairments following non-progressive brain injury: A study of four cases

Four brain-injured subjects with semantic memory impairments are described. Two had sustained traumatic head injury and two had herpes simplex virus encephalitis. The study seeks to determine (a) whether subjects with non-progressive brain injury and impaired semantic memory perform similarly to patients with progressive disorders on a semantic memory battery and (b) whether the anatomical lesions of the present group of subjects are similar to those seen in patients with progressive disorders. Results suggests that scores on the semantic memory battery are broadly similar for patients with progressive and non-progressive disorders. Information from magnetic resonance imaging scans supports other findings that the crucial area involved in semantic memory lies in the left temporal neocortex.