Naming deficit in herpes simplex encephalitis

Objectives - The preferential involvement of living categories in naming impairment is well recognised in Herpes Simplex Encephalitis (HSE). In this paper we describe naming, neuropsychological and neuroradiological findings with seven fresh HSE cases. Material & methods - Patients were given a picture naming task that included 60 items belonging to 6 different categories (three living, i.e. fruits, vegetables and animals and three non-living, i.e. furniture, vehicles and tools). In the statistical analysis several possible sources of bias as the frequency of the target word, the familiarity with the objects to name, the image complexity and other parameters were taken into account. Results - Four out of seven patients were significantly more impaired with living things. We describe their general cognitive profile and discuss the anatomo-functional aspects of category dissociation. Conclusion - Language impairment, disproportionately severe for the naming of living exemplars, is frequently observed in HSE, is clinically relevant and should be specifically investigated.