The neuropsychological profiles and semantic-critical regions of right semantic dementia

Keliang Chen; Junhua Ding; Biying Lin; Lin Huang; Le Tang; Yanchao Bi; Zaizhu Han; Yingru Lv; Qihao Guo

NeuroImage: Clinical (Jan 2018)

The neuropsychological profiles and semantic-critical regions of right semantic dementia

Keliang Chen,
Junhua Ding,
Biying Lin,
Lin Huang,
Le Tang,
Yanchao Bi,
Zaizhu Han,
Yingru Lv,
Qihao Guo

Affiliations

Keliang Chen: Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Junhua Ding: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Biying Lin: Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Lin Huang: Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Le Tang: Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Yanchao Bi: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Zaizhu Han: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Yingru Lv: Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Correspondence to: Y. Lv, Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai 200040, China.
Qihao Guo: Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Correspondence to: Q. Guo, Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology, Huashan Hospital; Fudan University, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai 200040, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 19
pp. 767 – 774

Abstract

Read online

Introduction: Previous literature has revealed that the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is the semantic hub of left-sided or mixed semantic dementia (SD), whilst the semantic hub of right-sided SD has not been examined. Methods: Seventeen patients with right-sided SD, 18 patients with left-sided SD and 20 normal controls (NC) underwent neuropsychological assessments and magnetic resonance imaging scans. We investigated the relationship between the degree of cerebral atrophy in the whole brain and the severity of semantic deficits in left and right-sided SD samples, respectively. Results: We found the semantic deficits of right-sided SD patients were related to bilateral fusiform gyri and left temporal pole, whilst the left fusiform gyrus correlated with the semantic performance of left-sided SD patients. Moreover, all the findings couldn't be accounted for by total gray matter volume (GMV) or general cognitive degradation of patients. Discussion: These results provide novel evidence for the current semantic theory, that the important regions for semantic processing include both anterior and posterior temporal lobes. Keywords: Semantic dementia, Lesion-behavior mapping, Laterality of brain atrophy, Semantic deficits

Published in NeuroImage: Clinical

ISSN: 2213-1582 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics; Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage-clinical/

About the journal