Definition
Acalculia, most simply, is the inability to perform mathematical tasks. These difficulties can stem from other deficits or can exist independently. Acalculia deficits can be global or selective and manifest in a wide variety of number processing and calculation abilities.
Categorization
Generally, authors have agreed on two major distinctions: primary and secondary acalculia (Growth-Marnat, 2000). Primary acalculia occurs when mathematical deficits are fundamental and are present independently of other deficits. Deficits in primary acalculia include poor estimation, number comparison abilities, and difficulty understanding procedural rules and numerical signs. In primary acalculia, these deficits will exist regardless of whether tasks are presented in an oral or written format (Adila & Rosselli, 2002).
The secondary acalculias are due to primary deficits in other areas. Aphasic acalculiaoccurs in patients...
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References and Readings
Ardila, A., & Rosselli, M. (2002). Acalculia and dyscalculia. Neuropsychology Review, 12, 179–231.
Ardila, A., Matute, E., & Inozemtseva, O. (2003). Progressive agraphia, acalculia, and anomia: a single-case report. Applied Neuropsychology, 10, 205–214.
Basso, A., Burgio, F., & Caporali, A. (2000). Acalculia, aphasia, and spatial disorders in left and right brain-damaged patient. Cortex, 36, 265–280.
Dehaene, S., Cohen, L., & Changeux, J. P. (1998). Neuronal network models of acalculia and prefrontal deficits. In R. W. Parks, D. S. Levine, & D. L. Long (Eds.), Fundamentals of neural network modeling: neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience (pp. 233–255). Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT.
Grafman, J., & Rickart, T. (2000). Acalculia. In M. J. Farah & T. E., Fienberg (Eds.), Patient based approaches to cognitive neurosciences: issues in clinical and cognitive neuropsychology. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT.
Growth-Marnat, G. (Ed.). (2000). Neuropsychological assessment in clinical practice. New York: Wiley.
Scruggs, T. E. & Mastropieri, M. A. (2000). Acalculia. In Encyclopedia of special education (2nd ed., Vol. 1, p. 27). New York: Wiley.
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Wahmhoff, N., Clark, E. (2011). Acalculia. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1433
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