We report a patient with pure anemic aphasia following encephalitis. Brain
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed bilateral temporal lesions, and s
ubsequent focal atrophy in the left anterior inferior temporal lobe. Over t
he course of a 2-year follow-up, the patient's naming difficulty persisted
without other dysfunction of language or memory. These observations indicat
e a contribution of the left anterior inferior temporal region to object na
ming. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights: reserved.