Phonological Input or Output? a Case of Phonological Input Deficits in Logopenic Primary Progressive Aphasia

EasyChair Preprint 6586

Abstract

Introduction: Logopenic variant PPA (lvPPA) is characterized by sentence repetition deficits, which are often attributed to phonological working memory (P-WM) deficits. There has been little research localizing impairments to input or output phonological processes. We present evidence from CLR1796, an individual with lvPPA, who showed selective disruption to phonological input processes with relatively intact phonological output.

Case History: CLR1796 was 72 years old with 12 years of education. He was 1.5 years post-symptom onset, prior to which he had no history of other neurologic impairments or learning disabilities.

Results: Evidence for input-specific phonological impairments: CLR1796 had nearly perfect oral reading but impaired repetition of sentences, words, and nonwords, including phonological and semantic errors in repetition. The presence of semantic errors in repetition (e.g., jab - stick) supports disruption affecting the lexical level. This dissociation between repetition and reading points to a spoken input as opposed to output deficit. Disruption to multiple phonological input processes: We further investigated phonological input at the levels of phonetic processing, P-WM, and the phonological input lexicon. Phonetic processing was assessed using a modified version of PALPA 1 with reduced P-WM demand and he scored 91.7%. Poor performance on the rhyme probe task from the Temple Assessment of Language and Short-Term Memory in Aphasia (TALSA) revealed a P-WM impairment. Working Memory (WM) impairment: Visuospatial WM was within normal limits indicating a specific P-WM deficit rather than a domain-general WM deficit.

Conclusions: CLR1796 has an input-specific phonological impairment affecting multiple input components including P-WM and the phonological input lexicon. Gaining a better understanding of the underlying impairment in lvPPA may lead to the development of more beneficial treatments.

Keyphrases: Dementia, case study, phonological processing, primary progressive aphasia

@booklet{EasyChair:6586,
  author    = {Shannon M. Sheppard and Jennifer Shea and Emilia Vitti and Bonnie L. Breining},
  title     = {Phonological Input or Output? a Case of Phonological Input Deficits in Logopenic Primary Progressive Aphasia},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 6586},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2021}}