Dementia
Rachael E. Docking, Jennifer Stock in International Handbook of Positive Aging, 2017
Frontotemporal dementia is the impact of pathological changes in the front and temporal lobes of the brain, sometimes referred to as Pick’s disease or frontal lobe dementia. Frontotemporal dementia is more common in people under the age of 65 (Mercy et al., 2008). There are three clinical presentations of frontotemporal dementia: Frontotemporal behaviour variant – particularly noticeable are changes in the person’s personality and behaviour, such as reward-seeking behaviours including overeating and alcohol use (Perry et al., 2014).Progressive non-fluent aphasia – the main impact is on a person’s speech, which becomes slow and hesitant, with errors in grammar and understanding complex sentences.Semantic dementia – the development of problems understanding the meaning of words, and finding the right word, which progresses to difficultly recognising familiar people or objects (Alzheimer’s Society, 2013a).
Retrograde amnesia in dementia and memory disorders
Lars-Göran Nilsson, Nobuo Ohta in Dementia and Memory, 2013
Snowden, Griffiths, and Neary (1996b) demonstrated that three semantic dementia (SD) patients showed a pronounced recency effect on the autobiographical and personal semantic components of the AMI, whereas Alzheimer patients displayed a conventional temporal gradient. This finding was also obtained in a larger group of SD patients on the AMI by Graham and Hodges (1997), and was interpreted in terms of the SD patients’ having disproportionate atrophy to the lateral and inferior temporal neocortex (resulting in impaired older memories) with the hippocampi being relatively preserved (with relatively intact recent memories). However, an alternative interpretation is that semantic dementia involves significant comprehension and word-finding deficits, which makes it more difficult to understand questions about autobiographical memory and, more particularly, harder to retrieve and output the correct concepts and words to express these memories. Snowden et al. (1989, 1996b, 1999) suggested that concepts related to recent, currently relevant activities may be “invested with meaning” and, consequently, current contextual and environmental cues may make recent autobiographical memories more accessible.
Neurology
Kaji Sritharan, Jonathan Rohrer, Alexandra C Rankin, Sachi Sivananthan in Essential Notes for Medical and Surgical Finals, 2021
This is a group of disorders characterised by frontal/temporal lobe atrophy, often with young onset (<65 years). There are three main syndromes: frontotemporal dementia – personality change/behavioural symptoms.semantic dementia – loss of semantic memory, i.e. conceptual knowledge.progressive non-fluent aphasia – impaired speech production.Other causes of dementia – it is important to rule out ‘reversible’ causesMetabolic: Vitamin B12/folate deficiency, hypothyroidism, Wilson’s diseaseInflammation/infection: HIV, multiple sclerosis, cerebral vasculitis, SLE, neurosyphilisDegenerative: Huntington’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, CJD Alcohol/toxicStructural: chronic subdural haematoma, tumours
A randomized crossover single-case series comparing blocked versus random treatment for anomia
Published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2023
Victoria A. Diedrichs, Jennifer P. Lundine, Deena Schwen Blackett, Alexandra Zezinka Durfee, Xueliang Jeff Pan, Stacy M. Harnish
Semantic dementia, also known as the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia, is a neurodegenerative condition primarily affecting semantic knowledge and leading to anomia, among other deficits (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011). For a review of word-retrieval treatments in semantic dementia and other forms of primary progressive aphasia, see Jokel et al. (2014). In an anomia treatment study for three participants with semantic dementia, Hoffman et al. (2015) found that introducing variability into the naming treatment by altering the presentation sequence led to greater retention of trained items at follow-up for two participants, despite a similar benefit of the variable and fixed-order presentation sequences during training. Although this study was not structured to specifically assess blocked and random practice schedules, the results support the notion that a random schedule may facilitate maintenance due to greater and variable spacing between trial items, requiring repeated lexical retrieval. However, a study that directly assessed the benefit of spaced retrieval on naming in a single participant found no benefit of spacing recall intervals (Bier et al., 2009).
No negative impact of word retraining on vocabulary use or clarity of communication in semantic dementia
Published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2023
Sharon A. Savage, Leonie F. Lampe, Lyndsey Nickels
The aim of this study was to examine data from a series of participants with semantic dementia (n = 9) who had previously taken part in a tailored word retraining programme to determine: Is there an increase in misuse (overgeneralization) of words following word retraining that is not attributable to perseverative or repetitive responding?Do the types of naming errors change from pre- to post-training for items that are not correctly named?Is there a reduction in the clarity of communication when an individual does not retrieve the target word (e.g., because the individual now produces an incorrect word in lieu of providing an accurate description)?
Successful short-term re-learning and generalisation of concepts in semantic dementia
Published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2018
Aida Suárez-González, Sharon A Savage, Diana Caine
Semantic dementia (SD) is a variant of primary progressive aphasia characterised by a progressive deterioration of semantic memory, which affects both verbal and non-verbal conceptual knowledge. The impact on language results in impaired naming, single-word comprehension and conceptual knowledge, in the context of fluent speech, relatively preserved grammar and motor production (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011). In the non-verbal domain, marked impairments may also be found in understanding objects, sounds and faces (Bozeat, Lambon Ralph, Patterson, Garrard, & Hodges, 2000; Garrard & Carroll, 2006; Hsieh, Hornberger, Piguet, & Hodges, 2011). Despite the significant impacts upon language and semantic knowledge, episodic memory and other cognitive functions remain spared over years. This unique cognitive profile is associated with bilateral anterior temporal lobe atrophy, particularly marked on the left (Davies, Halliday, Xuebeb, Kril, & Hodges, 2009).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Semantic Memory
- Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration
- Frontotemporal Dementia
- Progressive NONfluent Aphasia
- Primary Progressive Aphasia
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Receptive Aphasia
- Anomic Aphasia
- Associative Visual Agnosia
- Surface Dyslexia