Semantic field in aphasia: an experimental investigation on comprehension of the relations of class and property

A multiple choice test was devised in order to assess some aspects of the aphasic's semantic field. The patient's task was to match a given picture with one out of three alternatives: one of them was linked by a class relationship, one was linked by a property relationship and the last was an unrelated item. Results clearly show that Broca's aphasics make their choice according to class criteria whereas Wernicke's and controls make their choice according to property criteria. Results are discussed in the light of Jakobson's linguistic hypothesis which postulates that Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia are affirmed by a contiguity and similarity disorder.