Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42238421›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2026

Rethinking anomia across the frontotemporal dementia spectrum: marker of language dysfunction or global cognitive decline?

Shalom K Henderson, Marissa Russell-Meill, Erie Shivers, Divya Sivakumar, Swathi Kiran

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Shalom K HendersonCenter for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5522-2098
Marissa Russell-MeillCenter for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
Erie ShiversCenter for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
Divya SivakumarCenter for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
Swathi KiranCenter for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA.

Funding

Computational modeling of language impairment and control in bilingual individuals with post-stroke aphasia and neurodegenerative disordersR01DC020653 · NIDCD · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · PI Swathi Kiran, RISTO MIIKKULAINEN · 2023 to 2026
$2.6M
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC020653
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Anomia is common in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), although its clinical prominence varies by subtype, with the most marked impairment typically observed in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). It remains unclear whether naming impairment reflects language-specific impairment or broader cognitive severity, and how it relates to other cognitive domains across FTD syndromes. Methods: Fifteen healthy controls and twenty-two individuals across the FTD spectrum, including variant-specified and unclassifiable (NOS) presentations, completed two confrontation naming tasks (Boston Naming Test and Multilingual Naming Test) and a global cognitive screening measure (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA). Patient participants additionally completed a standardized language battery (Western Aphasia Battery - Revised) and a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (Uniform Data Set). Naming performance was compared between groups and associations with language severity, global cognition, and domain-specific cognitive functions were examined using regression analyses. Results: Naming was impaired in patients relative to healthy controls but did not differ between patient groups. Naming was strongly associated with language severity, but not global cognition. A significant group-by-MoCA interaction indicated that MoCA was positively associated with naming only in the unclassifiable group. In addition, naming was associated with episodic memory across both verbal and non-verbal domains. Conclusions: Naming in FTD primarily reflects language severity rather than global cognitive impairment. A robust association between naming and episodic memory suggests potential contributions from semantic cognition, shared frontally mediated retrieval processes, or parallel cognitive decline. These findings support the use of naming as a marker of language dysfunction while highlighting its relevance to broader cognitive systems in FTD.

Indexed as

confrontation namingfrontotemporal lobar degenerationlexical retrievalprimary progressive aphasiasemantic cognition

Identifiers

PMID42238421
PMCPMC13228657

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.