Luria on anomia

AR Luria. Towards the mechanisms of naming disturbance. Neuropsychologia 1973; 11:417-421.

Naming difficulties can be attributed to defective phonematic perception of articulatory control, among . He refers to "amnesic aphasia" as an archaic concept associating a sound with an object image. However, he states that objects are "coded" thereby acquiring meaning. Either an image oo relevant semantic connections must be activated and connected to an auditory form. Abstract ideas are coded and also can be named. However, the "law of force" of Pavlov, leading to failure to differentiate strong and weak connections, lead to inhibitory states. Blocking of traces of psychological events, which is "easily achieved by a nervous system with normal level of plasticity" becomes severely deranged in pathological states. Pathological inertia, or perseveration hinders the normal selectivity of psychological processes.

Anomia can occur due to sensorimotor modaltiy specific processes at input, or selectivity at a higher level. Selection of phonemes is impaired, leading to "alienation of word meaning" typical of sensory aphasia. Alternatively, articulatory phonemes cannot be accessed normally. Luria states that anomia may be visual agnostic (with trouble completing pictures, for example) or a higher order problem of word choice. A third area is fluent sequential organization of speech choices, or "syntagmatic disorganization." There is a derangement of"inner speech" andof "linear scheme of phrase."