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Published on: August 12, 2019
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Gesture profiles distinguish primary progressive aphasia variants.
Haley C Dresang1,2, Rand Williamson1, Hana Kim3
1Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, 50 Township Line Rd, Elkins Park, PA 19027.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|January 30, 2023
Summary
Semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) shows distinct gesture imitation deficits, particularly in hand posture, unlike other PPA variants. This highlights temporal lobe roles in gesture processing and aids differential diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
Background:
- Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome causing progressive language decline, with semantic (svPPA), logopenic (lvPPA), and nonfluent (nfvPPA) variants.
- Limb praxis and gesture production can be affected in PPA, but variant-specific differences remain unclear.
- Left temporal lobe damage in neurotypical individuals impairs gesture imitation, especially hand posture, and reduces the benefit of gesture meaning.
Conclusions:
- This study provides the first evidence of distinct gesture imitation patterns across PPA variants.
- svPPA is uniquely associated with impaired hand posture representation, supporting the temporal lobe's role in object-related hand postures.
- Characterizing these componential gesture deficits can inform differential diagnosis, communication strategies, and cognitive models for PPA.
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