Semantic verbal fluency: network analysis in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

Author(s):  
Natalia Arias-Trejo ◽  
Diana I. Luna-Umanzor ◽  
Armando Angulo-Chavira ◽  
Alma E. Ríos-Ponce ◽  
Martha M. González-González ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1047-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delaram Farzanfar ◽  
Marta Statucka ◽  
Melanie Cohn

AbstractObjectives: Deficits in semantic verbal fluency (SVF) can stem from dysfunction of an executive control system and/or of semantic knowledge. Previous analyses of SVF responses were devised to characterize these two components including switching and mean cluster size (MCS) indices, but these rely on subjective experimenter-based assessment of the words’ relatedness. To address this limitation, computational data-driven SVF indices have been developed. Our aim is to assess the validity and usefulness of these automated indices in the context of cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: This is a retrospective study including 50 advanced PD patients with (n=28) or without (n=22) mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI). We analyzed animal SVF outputs using an automated computational approach yielding switching, MCS, and cumulative relatedness (CuRel) indices. We compared these indices to the classic experimenter-based switching and MCS indices to assess concurrent validity, and against neuropsychological measures of executive functioning and semantic knowledge to assess construct validity. We also examined whether these indices were impaired and predicted PD-MCI. Results: Automated switching indices, but not MCS or CuRel, showed evidence of concurrent and construct validity, and characterized individual difference in advanced PD. Automated switching indices also outperformed the experimenter-dependent index in predicting the presence of PD-MCI. Conclusion: Computational methods hold promise as fine-grained, unbiased indices reflecting the executive component of SVF, but none of the methods provided valid measures of semantic knowledge in PD. Our data also confirm that SVF are not adequate tests of semantic memory in patients with executive dysfunction such as PD. (JINS, 2018, 24, 1047–1056)


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Obeso ◽  
Enrique Casabona ◽  
Maria Luisa Bringas ◽  
Lázaro Álvarez ◽  
Marjan Jahanshahi

Changes of cognitive function in PD have been extensively documented and defined as a ‘frontal’ type executive dysfunction. One of the main components of this executive dysfunction is the impairment of verbal fluency. The aim of the present study was to assess semantic and phonemic fluency in a large sample of PD patients and to investigate the effect of clinical and sociodemographic variables on verbal fluency in this patient group.Three hundred patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who were consecutive referrals to our clinic and 50 age and education matched healthy controls completed the phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks. Both phonemic and semantic verbal fluency were significantly impaired in PD patients relative to matched controls. Stage of illness, presence of depression, education and age influenced verbal fluency measures. Regression analyses established that global measures of cognitive ability (MMSE) and executive function (FAB) and side of onset of motor symptoms predicted 36–37% of variance of phonemic or semantic verbal fluency measures. Thus, future studies aimed at assessing cognitive functioning in PD patients treated by deep brain stimulation (DBS) should adequately take into account several factors (stage of illness, depression, executive functioning) which may potentially influence performance on verbal fluency tasks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Ferreira Barbosa ◽  
Mariana Callil Voos ◽  
Janini Chen ◽  
Debora Cristina Valente Francato ◽  
Carolina de Oliveira Souza ◽  
...  

Introduction. Executive function deficits are observed in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) from early stages and have great impact on daily living activities. Verbal fluency and oral diadochokinesia involve phonarticulatory coordination, response inhibition, and phonological processing and may also be affected in people with PD. This study aimed to describe the performance of PD patients and an age- and education-matched control group on executive function, verbal fluency, and oral diadochokinesia tests and to investigate possible relationships between them. Methods. Forty people with PD and forty controls were evaluated with Trail Making Test (TMT, executive function) and phonemic/semantic verbal fluency and oral diadochokinesia (/pataka/) tests. Groups were compared by ANOVA and relationships were investigated by Pearson tests. Results. People with PD showed longer times in parts A and B of TMT. They also said fewer words in phonemic/semantic verbal fluency tests and less syllables in the diadochokinesia test. Oral diadochokinesia strongly correlated to parts A and B of TMT and to phonemic verbal fluency. Conclusion. Oral diadochokinesia was correlated to executive function and verbal fluency. The cognitive-motor interaction in verbal fluency and oral diadochokinesia must be considered not to overestimate the cognitive or motor impairments in people with PD.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Rachael A. Lawson ◽  
Caroline H. Williams-Gray ◽  
Marta Camacho ◽  
Gordon W. Duncan ◽  
Tien K. Khoo ◽  
...  

Background: Cognitive impairment is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), with 80% cumulatively developing dementia (PDD). Objective: We sought to identify tests that are sensitive to change over time above normal ageing so as to refine the neuropsychological tests predictive of PDD. Methods: Participants with newly diagnosed PD (n = 211) and age-matched controls (n = 99) completed a range of clinical and neuropsychological tests as part of the ICICLE-PD study at 18-month intervals over 72 months. Impairments on tests were determined using control means (<1-2SD) and median scores. Mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) was classified using 1-2SD below normative values. Linear mixed effects modelling assessed cognitive decline, while Cox regression identified baseline predictors of PDD. Results: At 72 months, 46 (cumulative probability 33.9%) participants had developed PDD; these participants declined at a faster rate in tests of global cognition, verbal fluency, memory and attention (p <  0.05) compared to those who remained dementia-free. Impaired baseline global cognition, visual memory and attention using median cut-offs were the best predictors of early PDD (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.88, p <  0.001) compared to control-generated cut-offs (AUC = 0.76–0.84, p <  0.001) and PD-MCI (AUC] = 0.64–0.81, p <  0.001). Impaired global cognition and semantic fluency were the most useful brief tests employable in a clinical setting (AUC = 0.79, p <  0.001). Conclusion: Verbal fluency, attention and memory were sensitive to change in early PDD and may be suitable tests to measure therapeutic response in future interventions. Impaired global cognition, attention and visual memory were the most accurate predictors for developing a PDD. Future studies could consider adopting these tests for patient clinical trial stratification.


Author(s):  
Renata Gliwa

Renata Gliwa, Verbal fluency in categories of common and proper names in the phase of mild cognitive impairment in the course of Parkinson’s disease. Interdisciplinary Contexts of Special Pedagogy, no. 27, Poznań 2019. Pp. 249–272. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 2300-391X. e-ISSN 2658-283X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/ikps.2019.27.12 The article is devoted to consideration of verbal fluency in MCI-PD. The VF test allows for the detection of dysfunctions within linguistic processes, semantic memory and dysfunctions of executive functions already in the early stages of Parkinson’sdisease. The article compares the results of verbal fluency tests in selected categories of proper names and common names, and assesses the effect of the MCIPD stage on the test result. The comparison of the test group results with various degrees of MCI indicates a progressive decrease in verbal fluency. The experiment showed different profiles of the verbal task in terms of common and proper names.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (11) ◽  
pp. 2445-2452 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Roca ◽  
F. Manes ◽  
A. Chade ◽  
E. Gleichgerrcht ◽  
O. Gershanik ◽  
...  

BackgroundWe recently demonstrated that decline in fluid intelligence is a substantial contributor to frontal deficits. For some classical ‘executive’ tasks, such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Verbal Fluency, frontal deficits were entirely explained by fluid intelligence. However, on a second set of frontal tasks, deficits remained even after statistically controlling for this factor. These tasks included tests of theory of mind and multitasking. As frontal dysfunction is the most frequent cognitive deficit observed in early Parkinson's disease (PD), the present study aimed to determine the role of fluid intelligence in such deficits.MethodWe assessed patients with PD (n=32) and control subjects (n=22) with the aforementioned frontal tests and with a test of fluid intelligence. Group performance was compared and fluid intelligence was introduced as a covariate to determine its role in frontal deficits shown by PD patients.ResultsIn line with our previous results, scores on the WCST and Verbal Fluency were closely linked to fluid intelligence. Significant patient–control differences were eliminated or at least substantially reduced once fluid intelligence was introduced as a covariate. However, for tasks of theory of mind and multitasking, deficits remained even after fluid intelligence was statistically controlled.ConclusionsThe present results suggest that clinical assessment of neuropsychological deficits in PD should include tests of fluid intelligence, together with one or more specific tasks that allow for the assessment of residual frontal deficits associated with theory of mind and multitasking.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Chen

Background: Recent advances in genetics have provided insights into important inherited causes of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the underlying biological mechanisms are still incompletely understood. Gene expression studies have pointed toward the dysregulation of neuroinflammation, mitochondrial function, and protein degradation pathways. Objective: We aimed to identify groups of dysregulated genes in PD. Methods: In order to increase statistical power and control for potential confounders, we re-analyzed transcriptomic data from PD patients and model systems, integrating additional genomic data using a systems biology approach. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we partitioned genes into co-expressed modules. Results: One co-expression module, M13, had an expression trajectory that was highly correlated with PD, was not characterized by any specific cell type markers, and was enriched in PD genes identified by genome-wide association studies. Genes within M13 seemed to be related to global microRNA biogenesis, and DICER1 and AGO3 were highly connected within the module. The NUCKS1 gene, previously identified as part of the PARK16 locus, was also a hub gene within M13. Conclusion: These results suggest that microRNA processing and function may play a role in the pathogenesis of PD, and thus may represent a useful target for future drug development.


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