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Visuospatial Functioning in the Primary Progressive Aphasias

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2017

Christa L. Watson ,
Katherine Possin ,
I. Elaine Allen ,
H. Isabel Hubbard ,
Marita Meyer ,
Ariane E. Welch ,
Gil D. Rabinovici ,
Howard Rosen ,
Katherine P. Rankin  and
Zachary Miller
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Christa L. Watson*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, California Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Katherine Possin
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
I. Elaine Allen
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of California, San Francisco, California
H. Isabel Hubbard
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Marita Meyer
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, California
Ariane E. Welch
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Gil D. Rabinovici
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Howard Rosen
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Katherine P. Rankin
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Zachary Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Miguel A. Santos-Santos
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute- IDIBELL], L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain Fundació ACE memory clinic and research center, Institut Catalá de neurociències aplicades, Barcelona, Spain.
Joel H. Kramer
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Bruce L. Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, California Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Christa L. Watson, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, Suite 190, San Francisco, CA 94158. E-mail: christa.watson@ucsf.edu
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Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify whether the three main primary progressive aphasia (PPA) variants would show differential profiles on measures of visuospatial cognition. We hypothesized that the logopenic variant would have the most difficulty across tasks requiring visuospatial and visual memory abilities. Methods: PPA patients (n=156), diagnosed using current criteria, and controls were tested on a battery of tests tapping different aspects of visuospatial cognition. We compared the groups on an overall visuospatial factor; construction, immediate recall, delayed recall, and executive functioning composites; and on individual tests. Cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons were made, adjusted for disease severity, age, and education. Results: The logopenic variant had significantly lower scores on the visuospatial factor and the most impaired scores on all composites. The nonfluent variant had significant difficulty on all visuospatial composites except the delayed recall, which differentiated them from the logopenic variant. In contrast, the semantic variants performed poorly only on delayed recall of visual information. The logopenic and nonfluent variants showed decline in figure copying performance over time, whereas in the semantic variant, this skill was remarkably preserved. Conclusions: This extensive examination of performance on visuospatial tasks in the PPA variants solidifies some previous findings, for example, delayed recall of visual stimuli adds value in differential diagnosis between logopenic variant PPA and nonfluent variant PPA variants, and illuminates the possibility of common mechanisms that underlie both linguistic and non-linguistic deficits in the variants. Furthermore, this is the first study that has investigated visuospatial functioning over time in the PPA variants. (JINS, 2018, 24, 259–268)

Keywords

Frontotemporal dementiaAlzheimer diseaseLanguageNeuropsychological testsMental processesSpatial processing

Information

Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , March 2018 , pp. 259 - 268
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2017 

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