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Ungrady MB, Flurie M, Zuckerman BM, Mirman D, Reilly J. Naming and Knowing Revisited: Eyetracking Correlates of Anomia in Progressive Aphasia. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:354. [PMID: 31680908 PMCID: PMC6797589 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Progressive naming impairment (i.e., anomia) is a core diagnostic symptom of numerous pathologies that impact anterior and inferior portions of the temporal lobe. For patients who experience such regional temporal lobe degeneration, patterns of language loss often parallel the degradation of semantic memory, an etiology of naming impairment known as semantic anomia. Previous studies of semantic anomia have focused extensively on the output of naming attempts by contrasting errors, omissions, and distortions as a function of item-level characteristics (e.g., prototypicality, semantic category). An alternative approach involves evaluating visual confrontation naming as the naming process unfolds. Techniques with high temporal resolution (e.g., eyetracking) offer a potentially sensitive mode of delineating the locus of impairment during naming. For example, a lexical retrieval disorder would hypothetically elicit normal gaze patterns associated with successful visual object recognition regardless of naming accuracy. In contrast, we hypothesize that semantic anomia would be distinguished by aberrant gaze patterns as a function of reduced top-down conceptually guided search. Here we examined visual object recognition during picture confrontation naming by contrasting gaze patterns time locked to stimulus onset. Patients included a cohort of patients with anomia associated with either primary progressive aphasia (N = 9) or Alzheimer’s disease (N = 1) who attempted to name 200 pictures over the course of 18–24 months. We retrospectively isolated correct and incorrect naming attempts and contrasted gaze patterns for accurate vs. inaccurate attempts to discern whether gaze patterns are predictive of language forgetting. Patients tended to show a lower fixation count, higher saccade count, and slower saccade velocity for items that were named incorrectly. These results hold promise for the utility of eyetracking as a diagnostic and therapeutic index of language functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly B Ungrady
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Maurice Flurie
- Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Bonnie M Zuckerman
- Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Daniel Mirman
- Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jamie Reilly
- Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Vallejo V, Cazzoli D, Rampa L, Zito GA, Feuerstein F, Gruber N, Müri RM, Mosimann UP, Nef T. Effects of Alzheimer's Disease on Visual Target Detection: A "Peripheral Bias". Front Aging Neurosci 2016; 8:200. [PMID: 27582704 PMCID: PMC4987336 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual exploration is an omnipresent activity in everyday life, and might represent an important determinant of visual attention deficits in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The present study aimed at investigating visual search performance in AD patients, in particular target detection in the far periphery, in daily living scenes. Eighteen AD patients and 20 healthy controls participated in the study. They were asked to freely explore a hemispherical screen, covering ±90°, and to respond to targets presented at 10°, 30°, and 50° eccentricity, while their eye movements were recorded. Compared to healthy controls, AD patients recognized less targets appearing in the center. No difference was found in target detection in the periphery. This pattern was confirmed by the fixation distribution analysis. These results show a neglect for the central part of the visual field for AD patients and provide new insights by mean of a search task involving a larger field of view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Vallejo
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - Dario Cazzoli
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of BernBern, Switzerland; ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of BernBern, Switzerland
| | - Luca Rampa
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe A Zito
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - Flurin Feuerstein
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Gruber
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - René M Müri
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of BernBern, Switzerland; Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Department of Neurology and Clinical Research, University Hospital Inselspital, University of BernBern, Switzerland
| | - Urs P Mosimann
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of BernBern, Switzerland; University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of BernBern, Switzerland; Private Hospital WyssMünchenbuchsee, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Nef
- Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation Group, University of BernBern, Switzerland; ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of BernBern, Switzerland
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Laurent É, Noiret N. Visual-motor embodiment of language: a few implications for the neuropsychological evaluation (in Alzheimer's disease). Front Aging Neurosci 2015; 7:184. [PMID: 26483682 PMCID: PMC4588105 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 09/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Éric Laurent
- Laboratoire de Psychologie, Université de Franche-Comté, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté Besançon, France ; Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de l'Environnement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Franche-Comté, Université de technologie Belfort-Montbéliard, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté Besançon, France
| | - Nicolas Noiret
- Laboratoire de Psychologie, Université de Franche-Comté, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté Besançon, France
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Attention to memory: orienting attention to sound object representations. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2013; 78:439-52. [PMID: 24352689 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-013-0531-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite a growing acceptance that attention and memory interact, and that attention can be focused on an active internal mental representation (i.e., reflective attention), there has been a paucity of work focusing on reflective attention to 'sound objects' (i.e., mental representations of actual sound sources in the environment). Further research on the dynamic interactions between auditory attention and memory, as well as its degree of neuroplasticity, is important for understanding how sound objects are represented, maintained, and accessed in the brain. This knowledge can then guide the development of training programs to help individuals with attention and memory problems. This review article focuses on attention to memory with an emphasis on behavioral and neuroimaging studies that have begun to explore the mechanisms that mediate reflective attentional orienting in vision and more recently, in audition. Reflective attention refers to situations in which attention is oriented toward internal representations rather than focused on external stimuli. We propose four general principles underlying attention to short-term memory. Furthermore, we suggest that mechanisms involved in orienting attention to visual object representations may also apply for orienting attention to sound object representations.
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Viskontas IV, Boxer AL, Fesenko J, Matlin A, Heuer HW, Mirsky J, Miller BL. Visual search patterns in semantic dementia show paradoxical facilitation of binding processes. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:468-78. [PMID: 21215762 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2010] [Revised: 11/24/2010] [Accepted: 12/23/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
While patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show deficits in attention, manifested by inefficient performance on visual search, new visual talents can emerge in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), suggesting that, at least in some of the patients, visual attention is spared, if not enhanced. To investigate the underlying mechanisms for visual talent in FTLD (behavioral variant FTD [bvFTD] and semantic dementia [SD]) patients, we measured performance on a visual search paradigm that includes both feature and conjunction search, while simultaneously monitoring saccadic eye movements. AD patients were impaired relative to healthy controls (NC) and FTLD patients on both feature and conjunction search. BvFTD patients showed less accurate performance only on the conjunction search task, but slower response times than NC on all three tasks. In contrast, SD patients were as accurate as controls and had faster response times when faced with the largest number of distracters in the conjunction search task. Measurement of saccades during visual search showed that AD patients explored more of the image, whereas SD patients explored less of the image before making a decision as to whether the target was present. Performance on the conjunction search task positively correlated with gray matter volume in the superior parietal lobe, precuneus, middle frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. These data suggest that despite the presence of extensive temporal lobe degeneration, visual talent in SD may be facilitated by more efficient visual search under distracting conditions due to enhanced function in the dorsal frontoparietal attention network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indre V Viskontas
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, 350 Parnassus Ave., Ste. 905, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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Festa EK, Heindel WC, Ott BR. Dual-task conditions modulate the efficiency of selective attention mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychologia 2010; 48:3252-61. [PMID: 20621109 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2009] [Revised: 05/22/2010] [Accepted: 07/02/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Given previous demonstrations of both selective and divided attention deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, understanding how declines in the integrity of component processes of selective attention in these patients interact with impairments to executive processes mediating dual-task performance has both theoretical and practical relevance. To address this issue, healthy elderly and AD patients performed computerized tasks of spatial orienting, Simon response interference, and visual search both in isolation and while simultaneously engaged in a visuomotor tracking task (i.e., maintaining car position within a simulated driving environment). Results from the single-task conditions confirmed previous demonstrations of selective attention deficits in AD. Dual-task conditions produced in AD patients (but not healthy elderly) a change in the efficiency of the selective attention mechanisms themselves, as reflected in differential effects on cue or display conditions within each task. Rather than exacerbating the selective attention deficits observed under single-task conditions, however, dual-task conditions produced an apparent diminution of these deficits. We suggest this diminution is due to the combination of deficient top-down inhibitory processes along with a decrease in the attention-capturing properties of cue information under dual-task conditions in AD patients. These findings not only increase our understanding of the nature of the attentional deficits in AD patients, but also have implications for understanding the processes mediating attention in neurologically intact individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena K Festa
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
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Adult age differences in the functional neuroanatomy of visual attention: a combined fMRI and DTI study. Neurobiol Aging 2006; 28:459-76. [PMID: 16500004 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2006.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2005] [Revised: 01/04/2006] [Accepted: 01/21/2006] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We combined measures from event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and cognitive performance (visual search response time) to test the hypotheses that differences between younger and older adults in top-down (goal-directed) attention would be related to cortical activation, and that white matter integrity as measured by DTI (fractional anisotropy, FA) would be a mediator of this age-related effect. Activation in frontal and parietal cortical regions was overall greater for older adults than for younger adults. The relation between activation and search performance supported the hypothesis of age differences in top-down attention. When the task involved top-down control (increased target predictability), performance was associated with frontoparietal activation for older adults, but with occipital (fusiform) activation for younger adults. White matter integrity (FA) exhibited an age-related decline that was more pronounced for anterior brain regions than for posterior regions, but white matter integrity did not specifically mediate the age-related increase in activation of the frontoparietal attentional network.
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Linden T, Samuelsson H, Skoog I, Blomstrand C. Visual neglect and cognitive impairment in elderly patients late after stroke. Acta Neurol Scand 2005; 111:163-8. [PMID: 15691284 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2005.00391.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the prevalence of visual neglect and its relationship to cognitive impairment and dementia in elderly stroke patients 20 months after stroke. METHODS Of 243 stroke patients aged 70-91 years, 149 underwent neuropsychiatric testing, 138 with the Star Cancellation Test for visual neglect. RESULTS Fifteen per cent (n = 21) had visual neglect, 9% (n = 12) severe and 9% (n = 12) lateralized. Cognitive impairments were twice as common in patients with neglect as in patients without it and threefold more common when the neglect was severe. Neglect was related to apraxia, impaired visual field, and a previous stroke. Severe neglect was related to dementia, amnesia and impaired visual field. CONCLUSIONS Chronic neglect is common after stroke in elderly patients. So are cognitive impairments, especially in those with neglect. This calls for high alertness to impairments in spatial attention when treating patients with dementia and other cognitive impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Linden
- The Stroke Research Unit, Arvid Carlsson Institute, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Rösler A, Müller N. [Visual search in healthy persons and Alzheimer's patients: relating cognitive function to clinical practice]. DER NERVENARZT 2003; 74:863-8. [PMID: 14551690 DOI: 10.1007/s00115-003-1576-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Visual search is a complex and highly relevant cognitive task. Hypotheses about the processes involved have been derived from experimental psychology and modified by recent functional imaging methods revealing the underlying neuronal networks. To close the gap between theoretical implications and clinical practice, models of visual search are employed to explain visual search impairments in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Rösler
- Klinik für Neurologie, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/Main.
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Parasuraman R, Greenwood PM, Sunderland T. The apolipoprotein E gene, attention, and brain function. Neuropsychology 2002. [PMID: 11949718 DOI: 10.1037//0894-4105.16.2.254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The epsilon4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene is associated with alterations in brain function and is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Changes in components of visuospatial attention with ApoE-epsilon4, aging, and AD are described. Healthy middle-aged adults without dementia who have the ApoE-epsilon4 gene show deficits in spatial attention and working memory that are qualitatively similar to those seen in clinically diagnosed AD patients. The findings support an association between ApoE polymorphism and specific components of visuospatial attention. Molecular mechanisms that may mediate the ApoE-attention link by modulating cholinergic neurotransmission to the posterior parietal cortex are discussed. Studies of attention and brain function in ApoE-epsilon4 carriers without dementia can advance knowledge of the genetics of visual attention, may enhance understanding of the preclinical phase of AD, and may lead to better methods for early AD detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raja Parasuraman
- Cognitive Science Laboratory, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA.
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