Wh-questions and passive sentences in non-fluent variant PPA and semantic variant PPA: Longitudinal findings of an anagram production task

Abstract

Using an anagram task, we investigated longitudinal syntactic production by individuals with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) and non-fluent variant PPA (nfvPPA), compared to controls. The accuracy of the production of active and passive, and reversible and non-reversible sentences, as well as of wh- questions was compared across the three groups. Results showed a different pattern of syntactic impairment across the two patient groups. The nfvPPA group showed difficulty with wh- questions at Time 1 and impairment with the passive structure approximately one year later, at Time 2. Surprisingly, the svPPA group also showed difficulty with wh- questions from Time 1, but still no difficulty on passive sentences, two years later, at Time 3. Neither group had difficulty with reversibility. The results of the nfvPPA patients were as expected, and the results of the svPPA patients suggest that this group may exhibit a greater syntactic impairment than is typically recognized.

Sentence Comprehension in Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Study of the Application of the Brazilian Version of the Test for the Reception of Grammar (TROG2-Br)

“…In fact, sentence comprehension can be impaired in the progression of PPA-S, although semantic dysfunction is always the prominent deficit in these patients ( 21 , 43 , 70 ) (refer to Thompson and Mack ( 18 ) for a review). In a longitudinal study, Cupit et al ( 105 ) found significant differences in TROG performance between APP-NF/A and APP-S in the first assessment but not on follow-up, demonstrating the decline of PPA-S in this ability as the disease progresses. Therefore, the lack of differentiation in overall scores between PPA subgroups may reflect the progression of disease in some patients with PPA-S.…”

Production of Complex Sentences in the Semantic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia: Neuropsychological, Clinical, Neuroanatomical and Demographic Correlates

“…There is a bulk of studies indicating that sentences formed by syntactic movement are challenging for speakers with agrammatic aphasia [8] and nf/a PPA [9,10], whose primary linguistic deficit is of a syntactic nature. For example, Thompson et al [10] have shown that speakers with stroke-induced agrammatic aphasia and speakers with agrammatic PPA had comparable performance in sentence production and comprehension.…”

“…Some studies failed to show a duration of disease effect. Cupit et al [9] addressed the issue of decline in language performance in svPPA using an anagram task eliciting the production of active and passive sentences as well as wh-questions (e.g., Who is the boy pushing?) in three different time points.…”