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P3‐204: The neurolinguistic profile of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia
Author(s) -
Hardy Chris J.D.,
Rohrer Jonathan,
Buckley Aisling,
Crutch Sebastian J.,
Downey Laura E.,
Fox Nick C.,
Henley Susie M.,
Lehmann Manja,
Warren Jason D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2015.06.1576
Subject(s) - primary progressive aphasia , frontotemporal dementia , semantic dementia , aphasia , cohort , psychology , dementia , sentence , semantic memory , voxel based morphometry , disease , audiology , cognitive psychology , medicine , neuroscience , cognition , white matter , pathology , magnetic resonance imaging , artificial intelligence , computer science , radiology
Background:Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a syndrome characterized by progressive visual perceptual difficulties often associated with other neurological manifestations including apraxia, aphasia and cognitive symptoms. Because the underlying neuropathology is frequently that of Alzheimer’s Disease, it has become known as the “visual presentation” of this disorder. While patients with PCA have difficulties with extrinsic perception, we do not know whether “intrinsic perception”, including the ability to visualize imagery, is affected. This is an important question taking into account the cognitive value of visual imagery which forms the basis of imagination, which enables a number of cognitive tasks including behavior rehearsal, anxiety reduction, recreation, motor skill enhancement and others. Since visual imagery is a subjective experiential phenomenon, it is difficult to quantify or characterize in a person. The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ: Marks 1973) is a valid psychometric instrument used for measuring visual imagery differences in individuals (see Richardson, 1994; McKelvie, 1995 for reviews). The questionnaire consists of sixteen items that are each completed twice; once to determine the vividness of several images recalled by the participant when their eyes are open, and then once again for the same images obtained when their eyes are closed. The test uses a self-reported 5 point Likert scale to objectively measure the vividness of each mental image. Methods: The VVIQ was administered to 7 patients with PCA and 8 age matched controls. Results: Although the vividness of mental imagery values for an image obtained with participant’s eyes open did not differ significantly from the values obtained from the typical control group [F(13,14)1⁄42.1257, p1⁄4 0.1686] it was shown that when the individuals with PCA ranked the vividness of amental image obtained with their eyes closed the vividness ranking was statistically lower than those obtained by the control participants [F(13, 14)1⁄4 4.7045, p1⁄40.0492]. Conclusions:The results of this pilot study indicate that participants with PCA maintain their ability to vividly visualize images with eyes open, however they may demonstrate a decrease in their ability to vividly visualize images with eyes closed when compared to their typical peers.