Patterns of oral-verbal perseveration in adult aphasics.

This descriptive study sought to examine the nature of perseverative errors uttered by adult aphasics in response to a picture naming task. Previous research on perseveration is reviewed. Three major patterns of perseverative behavior are identified and illustrated--semantic selection, program of action, and phonemic carry-over. The hypothesis that site of lesion (anterior vs. posterior) may account for the amount or pattern of perseveration an aphasic exhibits is not supported. An information-processing model is proposed to account for all patterns of oral-verbal perseverative response.