Naming is associated with left temporal pole metabolite levels in neurodegenerative diseases.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between performance in language tests and levels of brain metabolites in two selected left temporal lobe regions.


METHODS
Ninety-five subjects were included: 26 controls, 30 amnestic mild cognitive impairment subjects, 27 Alzheimer's disease and 12 frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) patients. Language was assessed by a naming test: Boston Naming Test (BNT) and by a semantic verbal fluency test. Other cognitive functions: verbal and visual memory, visual perception, attention and executive function, and praxis were also assessed. Single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy was obtained in the left temporal pole (L-TPOLE), and in the left posterior temporoparietal region (L-TPAR).


RESULTS
BNT scores were significantly associated with N-acetylaspartate/creatine ratios (r = 0.45; p < 0.001) and choline/creatine ratios (r = 0.33; p < 0.005) in the L-TPOLE. No significant associations were found between BNT and metabolite levels in the L-TPAR. No significant associations were found between the semantic verbal fluency test and other cognitive tests and metabolite levels either in the L-TPOLE or in the L-TPAR.


CONCLUSIONS
Naming performance is related to metabolite levels in the anterior L-TPOLE.
Rami
L
L
Alzheimer's Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clinic i Universitari de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Caprile
C
C
Gómez-Ansón
B
B
Sánchez-Valle
R
R
Monte
G C
GC
Bosch
B
B
Molinuevo
J L
JL
D000368:Aged; D000647:Amnesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000849:Anomia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*
D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline