Frontotemporal dementia selectively impairs transitive reasoning about familiar spatial environments.
Although patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are known to exhibit a wide range of cognitive and personality difficulties, some evidence suggests that there may be a degree of selectivity in their reasoning impairments. Based on a recent review of the neuroimaging literature on reasoning, the authors hypothesized that the presence or absence of familiar content may have a selective impact on the reasoning abilities of patients with FTD. Specifically, the authors predicted that patients with frontal-variant FTD would be more impaired when reasoning about transitive arguments involving familiar spatial environments than when reasoning about identical logical arguments involving unfamiliar spatial environments. As predicted, patients with FTD were less accurate than normal controls only when the content of arguments involved familiar spatial environments. These results indicate a degree of selectivity in the cognitive deficits of this patient population and suggest that the frontal-temporal lobe system may play a necessary role in reasoning about familiar material.
Vartanian
Oshin
O
Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. oshinv1@mac.com
Goel
Vinod
V
Tierney
Michael
M
Huey
Edward D
ED
Grafman
Jordan
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*
J Cogn Neurosci. 2004 May;16(4):654-64
15165354
Cognition. 2003 Feb;87(1):B11-22
12499108
Neuroimage. 2001 Jul;14(1 Pt 1):21-36
11525331
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2005 Jun;6(6):435-48
15928716
Arch Neurol. 2007 Jun;64(6):873-7
17562936
Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 Oct;11(10):435-41
17913567
J Cogn Neurosci. 2003 May 15;15(4):559-73
12803967
Neurology. 2001 Jun;56(11 Suppl 4):S6-10
11402143
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1994 Apr;57(4):416-8
8163988
Neuropsychologia. 2008 Apr;46(5):1495-504
18262206
Neuropsychologia. 1992 Aug;30(8):683-97
1407485
Cortex. 1997 Dec;33(4):623-38
9444465
Neuropsychologia. 2008;46(7):2020-32
18355881
Neuroimage. 2001 Jul;14(1 Pt 2):S2-7
11373126
Brain. 2004 Apr;127(Pt 4):783-90
14976069
Brain. 2005 Nov;128(Pt 11):2612-25
16195246
Annu Rev Psychol. 2008;59:255-78
18154502
Arch Neurol. 2005 Sep;62(9):1402-8
16157747
Psychol Sci. 2006 May;17(5):428-33
16683931
Neuropsychol Rev. 2005 Sep;15(3):131-45
16328732
Arch Neurol. 2001 Nov;58(11):1803-9
11708987
Brain. 2004 Mar;127(Pt 3):628-49
14761903
Behav Brain Sci. 2000 Oct;23(5):645-65; discussion 665-726
11301544
Neuroimage. 2004 Nov;23(3):860-8
15528086
J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 1989 Apr-Jun;2(2):76-82
2775439
Neuroimage. 2001 Dec;14(6):1238-43
11707080
Brain. 2006 Nov;129(Pt 11):3066-80
17071925
Neuroimage. 2000 Nov;12(5):504-14
11034858
Neuropsychologia. 2001;39(9):901-9
11516443
J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 1991 Jan-Mar;4(1):14-7
2054046