Electroencephalography in Primary Progressive Aphasia and Apraxia of Speech

Past research has demonstrated that electroencephalography (EEG) is sensitive to what we now know as Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA); however, the EEG profiles of patients with Primary Progressive Apraxia of Speech (PPAOS) and PPA, in the context of current consensus criteria, have not been studied.

The primary goal of this study was to explore the EEG profiles of patients of the nonfluent/ agrammatic variant of PPA (agPPA) and PPAOS.

Three patients with agPPA and five patients with PPAOS (two with aphasia) completed a head MRI scan and clinical EEG recording. Clinical radiologists and electrophysiologists reviewed respective imaging, blinded to clinical diagnosis.

Patients with PPAOS who did not have aphasia had normal EEGs, while those with aphasia demonstrated theta slowing. Patients with agPPA also showed theta slowing, with one exception. MRI scans showed non-specific, age-related changes across clinical presentations.

This preliminary study suggests theta slowing is consistent with neurodegenerative aphasia, but not isolated apraxia of speech. EEG is a low-cost mechanism to identify possible biomarkers for use when clinical severity limits behavioral examinations or expert examiners are unavailable.