Neurocognitive basis of repetition deficits in primary progressive aphasia

Sladjana Lukic, Maria Luisa Mandelli, Ariane Welch, Kesshi Jordan, Wendy Shwe, John Neuhaus, Zachary Miller, H. Isabel Hubbard, Maya Henry, Bruce L. Miller, Nina F. Dronkers, Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous studies indicate that repetition is affected in primary progressive aphasia (PPA), particularly in the logopenic variant, due to limited auditory-verbal short-term memory (avSTM). We tested repetition of phrases varied by length (short, long) and meaning (meaningful, non-meaningful) in 58 participants (22 logopenic, 19 nonfluent, and 17 semantic variants) and 21 healthy controls using a modified Bayles repetition test. We evaluated the relation between cortical thickness and repetition performance and whether sub-scores could discriminate PPA variants. Logopenic participants showed impaired repetition across all phrases, specifically in repeating long phrases and any phrases that were non-meaningful. Nonfluent, semantic, and healthy control participants only had difficulty repeating long, non-meaningful phrases. Poor repetition of long phrases was associated with cortical thinning in left temporo-parietal areas across all variants, highlighting the importance of these areas in avSTM. Finally, Bayles repetition phrases can assist classification in PPA, discriminating logopenic from nonfluent/semantic participants with 89% accuracy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)35-45
Number of pages11
JournalBrain and Language
Volume194
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (M.L.GT., NINDS R01 NS050915, NIDCD K24 DC015544; NIA U01 AG052943; M.H., R01DC016291-02; B.L.M., NIA P50 AG03006, NIA P50 AG023501, NIA P01 AG019724; N.D. NIDCD RO1 DC016345); State of California (M.L.GT., DHS04-35516); Alzheimer’s Disease Center of California (B.L.M., 03-75271 DHS/ADP/ARCC); John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation (B.L.M.); Koret Family Foundation; The Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia (B.L.M.); and McBean Family Foundation (B.L.M.). We thank our patients and healthy volunteers for participating in the research.

FundersFunder number
Alzheimer’s Disease Center of California03-75271 DHS/ADP/ARCC
John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation
McBean Family Foundation
California State UniversityDHS04-35516
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication DisordersRO1 DC016345, K24 DC015544, P50 AG023501, R01DC016291-02, P01 AG019724, P50 AG03006, NIA U01 AG052943
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke CouncilR01NS050915
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council
Koret Foundation

    Keywords

    • Cortical thickness
    • Length
    • Phrase repetition
    • Primary progressive aphasia
    • Semantics

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
    • Speech and Hearing
    • Cognitive Neuroscience
    • Language and Linguistics
    • Linguistics and Language

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