A case of concomitant impairment of operational signs and punctuation marks.

A patient affected by amnestic aphasia, E.B., presented with a prevailing impairment in the use of operational signs and punctuation marks. His performance on tasks exploring his knowledge of these symbols is compared with that of two other patients suffering from similar aphasic disturbances. This comparison enables us to reject the hypothesis that E.B.'s defects arise from aphasia per se. A possible cognitive link between operational signs and punctuation marks is discussed.