Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33378229›Full record

ArticleNeurocase2021

Plasticity of sentence processing networks: evidence from a patient with agrammatic variant of primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

Cynthia K Thompson, Elena Barbieri, Jennifer E Mack, Aaron Wilkins, Kathy Y Xie

Open access · greenAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Neurocase, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Cynthia K ThompsonAphasia and Neurolinguistics Research Laboratory, Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3197-3457
Elena BarbieriAphasia and Neurolinguistics Research Laboratory, Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7303-846X
Jennifer E MackAphasia and Neurolinguistics Research Laboratory, Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Aaron WilkinsCenter for Audiology, Speech, Language, and Learning, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Kathy Y XieAphasia and Neurolinguistics Research Laboratory, Center for the Neurobiology of Language Recovery, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Northwestern University · US

Funding

Neurobiology of Language Recovery in Aphasia: Natural History and Treatment-Ind*P50DC012283 · NIDCD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · PI THOMPSON, CYNTHIA K · 2013 to 2017
$11.7M
Language in Primary Progressive AphasiaR01DC008552 · NIDCD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI MESULAM, MAREK-MARSEL M · 2007 to 2021
$8.5M
Neurolinguistic Investigations of Aphasia and RecoveryR01DC001948 · NIDCD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · PI THOMPSON, CYNTHIA K · 1992 to 2021
$7.9M
NIDCD NIH HHS P50 DC012283NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC001948NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC008552
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study reports the results of a longitudinal study examining the effects of treatment for sentence processing deficits for a 70-year-old gentleman (DK) with the agrammatic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). On entry into the study, he presented with a 2-year history of impaired verb and sentence processing and concomitant neural atrophy in primarily subcortical regions. Spanning an 18-month period, treatment focused on improving comprehension and production of syntactically complex, passive and object cleft, structures, consecutively. Results, derived from extensive behavioral and neurocognitive testing, showed not only improved ability to comprehend and produce both trained and untrained, less complex, linguistically related structures in offline tasks, but also improved online sentence processing strategies as revealed by partially normalized eye movements in online comprehension (i.e., emergence of thematic prediction and thematic integration) and production (i.e., use of incremental processing) tasks. Changes in neural activation from pre- to post-treatment of both structures also were found, with upregulation of tissue in both the left and right hemispheres, overlapping with regions recruited by neurotypical adults performing the same task. These findings indicate that Treatment of Underlying Forms (TUF) is effective for treatment of patients with the agrammatic variant of PPA (as it is for those with stroke-induced agrammatism), and show that unaffected neural tissue in patients with PPA is malleable and may be recruited to support language, providing evidence of experience-based plasticity in neurodegenerative disease.

Indexed as

Aphasia, Primary ProgressiveNeurodegenerative DiseasesAdultAgedAphasia, BrocaHumansLanguageLongitudinal StudiesMaleagrammatic variant of PPAeyetrackingfunctional neuroimagingNeural plasticityNP-movement structuresPrimary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)treatment of Underlying Forms (TUF)visual world paradigmsWH-movement structures

Identifiers

PMID33378229
PMCPMC8026534
OpenAlexW3113719691

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.