Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T20:25:44.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Visuospatial Functioning in the Primary Progressive Aphasias

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2017

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

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)

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Budisavljevic, S., Dell’Acqua, F., Djordjilovic, V., Miotto, D., Motta, R., & Castiello, U. (2017). The role of the frontal aslant tract and premotor connections in visually guided hand movements. NeuroImage, 146, 419428.Google Scholar
Butts, A.M., Machulda, M.M., Duffy, J.R., Strand, E.A., Whitwell, J.L., & Josephs, K.A. (2015). Neuropsychological profiles differ among the three variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 21(6), 429435. doi: 10.1017/S1355617715000399 Google Scholar
Delis, D.C., Kaplan, E., & Kramer, J.H. (2001). Delis-Kaplan executive function system (D-KEFS). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Dubois, B., Feldman, H.H., Jacova, C., Hampel, H., Molinuevo, J.L., Blennow, K., & Bateman, R. (2014). Advancing research diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease: The IWG-2 criteria. The Lancet Neurology, 13(6), 614629.Google Scholar
Foxe, D., Leyton, C.E., Hodges, J.R., Burrell, J.R., Irish, M., & Piguet, O. (2016). The neural correlates of auditory and visuospatial span in logopenic progressive aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease. Cortex, 83, 3950. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.07.003 Google Scholar
Foxe, D.G., Irish, M., Hodges, J.R., & Piguet, O. (2013). Verbal and visuospatial span in logopenic progressive aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 19(3), 247253. doi: 10.1017/S1355617712001269 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Dronkers, N.F., Rankin, K.P., Ogar, J.M., Phengrasamy, L., Rosen, H.J., & Miller, B.L. (2004). Cognition and anatomy in three variants of primary progressive aphasia. Annals of Neurology, 55(3), 335346.Google Scholar
Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Hillis, A.E., Weintraub, S., Kertesz, A., Mendez, M., Cappa, S.F., & Grossman, M. (2011). Classification of primary progressive aphasia and its variants. Neurology, 76(11), 10061014. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31821103e6 Google Scholar
Henry, M.L., Wilson, S.M., Babiak, M.C., Mandelli, M.L., Beeson, P.M., Miller, Z.A., && Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2016). Phonological processing in primary progressive aphasia. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28(2), 210222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, M.L., Wilson, S.M., Ogar, J.M., Sidhu, M.S., Rankin, K.P., Cattaruzza, T., & Seeley, W.W. (2014). Neuropsychological, behavioral, and anatomical evolution in right temporal variant frontotemporal dementia: A longitudinal and post-mortem single case analysis. Neurocase, 20(1), 100109. doi: 10.1080/13554794.2012.732089 Google Scholar
Kertesz, A. (1982). Western aphasia battery test manual. New York: Grune & Stratton.Google Scholar
Kramer, J.H., Jurik, J., Sha, S.J., Rankin, K.P., Rosen, H.J., Johnson, J.K., && Miller, B.L. (2003). Distinctive neuropsychological patterns in frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia, and Alzheimer disease. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 16(4), 211218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kumfor, F., Landin-Romero, R., Devenney, E., Hutchings, R., Grasso, R., Hodges, J.R., & Piguet, O. (2016). On the right side? A longitudinal study of left- versus right-lateralized semantic dementia. Brain, 139, 986998.Google Scholar
Leyton, C.E., Britton, A.K., Hodges, J.R., Halliday, G.M., & Kril, J.J. (2016). Distinctive pathological mechanisms involved in primary progressive aphasias. Neurobiology of Aging, 38, 8292.Google Scholar
Mandelli, M.L., Caverzasi, E., Binney, R.J., Henry, M.L., Lobach, I., Block, N., & Henry, R.G. (2014). Frontal white matter tracts sustaining speech production in primary progressive aphasia. Journal of Neuroscience, 34(29), 97549767.Google Scholar
Mesulam, M.M., & Weintraub, S. (1992). Spectrum of primary progressive aphasia. Bailliere’s Clinical Neurology, 1(3), 583609.Google Scholar
Milner, B., Johnsrude, I., & Crane, J. (1997). Right medial temporal–lobe contribution to object–location memory. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 352(1360), 14691474.Google Scholar
Osborne, J.W., & Costello, A.B. (2009). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Pan-Pacific Management Review, 12(2), 131146.Google Scholar
Ossenkoppele, R., Cohn-Sheehy, B.I., La Joie, R., Vogel, J.W., Moller, C., Lehmann, M., & Rabinovici, G.D. (2015). Atrophy patterns in early clinical stages across distinct phenotypes of Alzheimer’s disease. Human Brain Mapping, 36(11), 44214437. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22927 Google Scholar
Pigott, S., & Milner, B. (1993). Memory for different aspects of complex visual scenes after unilateral temporal- or frontal-lobe resection. Neuropsychologia, 31(1), 115.Google Scholar
Possin, K.L., Laluz, V.R., Alcantar, O.Z., Miller, B.L., & Kramer, J.H. (2011). Distinct neuroanatomical substrates and cognitive mechanisms of figure copy performance in Alzheimer’s disease and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Neuropsychologia, 49(1), 4348. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.10.026 Google Scholar
Ramanan, S., Flanagan, E., Leyton, C.E., Villemagne, V.L., Rowe, C.C., Hodges, J.R., & Hornberger, M. (2016). Non-verbal episodic memory deficits in Primary Progressive Aphasias are highly predictive of underlying amyloid pathology. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 51(2), 367376. doi: 10.3233/JAD-150752 Google Scholar
Rohrer, J., McNaught, E., Foster, J., Clegg, S., Barnes, J., Omar, R., & Fox, N. (2008). Tracking progression in frontotemporal lobar degeneration serial MRI in semantic dementia. Neurology, 71(18), 14451451.Google Scholar
Rohrer, J.D., Caso, F., Mahoney, C., Henry, M., Rosen, H.J., Rabinovici, G., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (2013). Patterns of longitudinal brain atrophy in the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia. Brain and Language, 127(2), 121126. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.12.008 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spinelli, E.G., Mandelli, M.L., Miller, Z.A., Santos‐Santos, M.A., Wilson, S.M., Agosta, F., & Meyer, M. (2017). Typical and atypical pathology in primary progressive aphasia variants. Annals of Neurology, 81, 430443.Google Scholar
Viskontas, I.V., Boxer, A.L., Fesenko, J., Matlin, A., Heuer, H.W., Mirsky, J., && Miller, B.L. (2011). Visual search patterns in semantic dementia show paradoxical facilitation of binding processes. Neuropsychologia, 49(3), 468478.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warrington, E., & James, M. (1991). The Visual Object and Space Perception Battery. Suffolk, England: Thames Valley Test Company.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Third Edition and Wechsler Memory Scale–Third Edition technical manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wertz, R.T., & Rosenbek, J.C. (1991). Apraxia of speech in adults: The disorder and its management. Norwich, UK: Singular Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: Image

Watson et al supplementary material

Watson et al supplementary material 1

Download Watson et al supplementary material(Image)
Image 8.6 MB