The Nonverbal Processing of Actions Is an Area of Relative Strength in the Semantic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia

Purpose: Better performance for actions compared to objects has been reported in the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA). This study investigated the influence of the assessment task (naming, semantic picture matching) over the dissociation between objects and actions. Method: Te...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of speech, language, and hearing research language, and hearing research, 2020-02, Vol.63 (2), p.569-584
Main Authors: Auclair-Ouellet, Noémie, Fossard, Marion, Macoir, Joël, Laforce, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aphasia
Aphasia, Primary Progressive - psychology
Case-Control Studies
Cognition
Comparative Analysis
Female
Humans
Language Processing
Language Tests
Male
Middle Aged
Naming
Neuropsychological Tests
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication - psychology
Pictorial Stimuli
Psycholinguistics
Semantics
Task Analysis
Task Performance and Analysis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose: Better performance for actions compared to objects has been reported in the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA). This study investigated the influence of the assessment task (naming, semantic picture matching) over the dissociation between objects and actions. Method: Ten individuals with svPPA and 17 matched controls completed object and action naming tests, and object and action semantic picture matching tests. Performance was compared between the svPPA and control groups, within the svPPA group, and for each participant with svPPA versus the control group individually. Results: Compared to controls, participants with svPPA were impaired on object and action naming, and object and action semantic picture matching. As a group, participants with svPPA had an advantage for actions over objects and for semantic picture matching tests over naming tests. Eight participants had a better performance for actions compared to objects in naming, with three showing a significant difference. Nine participants had a better performance for actions compared to objects in semantic picture matching, with six showing a significant difference. For objects, semantic picture matching was better than naming in nine participants, with five showing a significant difference. For actions, semantic picture matching was better than naming in all 10 participants, with nine showing a significant difference. Conclusion: The nonverbal processing of actions, as assessed with a semantic picture matching test, is an area of relative strength in svPPA. Clinical implications for assessment planning and interpretation and theoretical implications for current models of semantic cognition are discussed.
ISSN:1092-4388
1558-9102
DOI:10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00271