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Apraxia, mechanical problem solving and semantic knowledge: contributions to object usage in corticobasal
Josef Spatt1, Thomas Bak, Sasha Bozeat
1Neurolog. Abt., LBI für Epilepsie und Neuromuskuläre Erkankungen, Neurologisches Krankenhaus Rosenhügel, Riedelgasse 5, 1130 Vienna, Austria.
Journal of Neurology
|May 22, 2002
Summary
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) causes multifactorial apraxia, impacting motor programming, action knowledge, and semantic memory. This leads to severe disability in everyday object use.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder.
- Apraxia is a common but poorly understood symptom in CBD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the multifaceted nature of apraxia in corticobasal degeneration.
- To compare gesture production, semantic knowledge, and mechanical problem-solving abilities in CBD patients and controls.
Main Methods:
- Five patients with CBD and five matched controls were assessed.
- Tests included meaningless and symbolic gesture production, semantic tasks, and novel tool use for mechanical problem-solving.
Main Results:
- All CBD patients exhibited severe impairments in gesture production and real object use.
- Deficits extended to gesture-object matching and novel tool use, indicating central action knowledge and problem-solving impairments.
- Three patients showed semantic knowledge breakdown, with two experiencing significant anomia.
Conclusions:
- Apraxia in CBD is multifactorial, involving motor programming, action knowledge, and potentially semantic memory deficits.
- Parietal lobe pathology may underlie deficits in action knowledge and mechanical problem-solving.
- The combination of these deficits explains the profound disability observed in CBD patients' everyday object use.