Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
Published on: October 25, 2019
Sentence comprehension in semantic dementia: a longitudinal case study
Elizabeth Rochon1, Gitit Kave, Jennifer Cupit
1University of Toronto, Canada.
Abstract:
Sentence comprehension abilities were investigated in a patient with semantic dementia who was administered tests of semantic knowledge and sentence comprehension over a 5-year period. Results showed that despite a severe and continual degradation in semantic knowledge, syntactic comprehension abilities remained largely intact. Evidence was also found for a codependency between semantics and syntax in a task in which knowledge about conceptual number influenced subject-verb agreement in the patient and in control participants. Results are discussed in relation to the nature of the sentence comprehension impairment in semantic dementia and with reference to the modularity of the components of the language processing system.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Dementia l: Introduction
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Understanding Memory
Language and Cognition

