A Deficit for Arithmetical Procedures Lack of Knowledge or Lack of Monitoring：一种算术程序缺乏知识或缺乏监测赤字.pdf

A DEFICIT FOR ARITHMETICAL PROCEDURES: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OR LACK OF MONITORING? Carlo Semenza l , Laura Miceli l and Luisa Girelli 2 ( l Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Trieste, Italy; 2 Department of Psychology, University College London, .) A BSTRACT A patient is described with a specific deficit for arithmetical procedures. Unlike in previously described cases, where the observed problems could be attributed to the systematic application of disturbed algorithms, this patient’s difficulty seems to stem from an inability to monitor the sequence of operations that calculation procedures specify. Criteria are provided for distinguishing impairments in written calculation due to the application of defective knowledge of the procedures from those determined by lack of monitoring. The role of monitoring and control processes in different ponents is also discussed. I NTRODUCTION Since the very beginning of the 20th century, the distinction between primary and secondary acalculia characterized the clinical investigations of calculation disabilities (Berger, 1926). While primary acalculia was not clearly related to other cognitive impairments, secondary acalculia appeared in patients who present with attentional, visuo-spatial or language difficulties. It is now well established that the ability to perform calculation is a ponential cognitive function, ponents of which can be selectively impaired. However, calculation is no doubt mediated by several cognitive processes, among which language, memory, visuo-spatial and attentional resources. While the contribution of some of these functions has been extensively investigated, . working-memory (., Hitch, 1978; Baddeley and Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 1986; Ashcraft, Donley, Halas and Vakali, 1992; Logie, Gilhooly and Wynn, 1994; Butterworth, Cipolotti and Warrington, 1996) others, ., monitoring and control function, have been only occasionally considered (., Luria, 1973). The present study sheds some light