title: Impairment of homonymous processing in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: An important issue in research on language is how concepts are represented and associated with each other in the brain. Many investigations have focused on language ambiguity and the phenomenon of homonymy in which a single lexical item, presenting the same form, is related to different meanings. Our study aims to test the hypothesis that weak association of meaning characterizing homonyms may be especially prone to brain damage. To verify this hypothesis a test of attribution of the meaning of homonymous words, the Humpty Dumpty (HD) test, was applied to 50 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 50 healthy subjects. Results show that AD patients are impaired in the HD test in an early phase of disease and that performance correlates with naming ability and phonological fluency. The data are in keeping with a growing body of literature that supports dual impairment to the semantic system in AD, i.e., to semantic knowledge and active processing and access to the semantic field. The evaluation of the ability to resolve homonymous ambiguity, using the HD test, may provide a useful and quick clinical tool to detect the anomalies of the semantic network linked to either a loss of the core system where meaning of words is stored or an impairment of the access to an intact semantic representation.
authors: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Piccirilli
authors: Patrizia
authors: P
authors: D'Alessandro
authors: Norma
authors: N
authors: Micheletti
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Macone
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Scarponi
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Arcelli
authors: Stefania Maria
authors: SM
authors: Petrillo
authors: Mauro
authors: M
authors: Silvestrini
authors: Simona
authors: S
authors: Luzzi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009275:Names; D010700:Phonetics; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012660:Semantics; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
references: Brain. 2012 Jul;135(Pt 7):2202-14
references: 22669082
references: J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2003 Nov;29(6):1319-38
references: 14622064
references: Eur J Neurol. 1996 May;3(3):198-202
references: 21284770
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2006 Oct;27(10):799-810
references: 16511886
references: Brain Lang. 1996 Aug;54(2):179-83
references: 8811951
references: Brain Lang. 2002 Apr-Jun;81(1-3):2-11
references: 12081377
references: Brain Lang. 2002 Apr-Jun;81(1-3):205-23
references: 12081393
references: Neuron. 2001 Aug 2;31(2):329-38
references: 11502262
references: Brain Lang. 2005 Jun;93(3):308-26
references: 15862856
references: Neuropsychologia. 2009 Apr;47(5):1332-43
references: 19428397
references: J Clin Psychiatry. 2011 Dec;72(12):e37
references: 22244033
references: Alzheimers Dement. 2011 May;7(3):263-9
references: 21514250
references: Cereb Cortex. 2011 May;21(5):1066-75
references: 20851853
references: Neuroimage. 2010 Jan 1;49(1):1099-107
references: 19632335
references: J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189-98
references: 1202204
references: Cereb Cortex. 2012 Aug;22(8):1761-73
references: 21968566
references: Cereb Cortex. 2008 Nov;18(11):2574-85
references: 18308708
references: Neuropsychology. 2011 Jul;25(4):413-26
references: 21443339
references: Semin Speech Lang. 2008 Feb;29(1):18-31
references: 18348089
references: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2005 Jun;24(1):57-65
references: 15922158
references: Neuropsychologia. 2006;44(10):1928-35
references: 16616942
references: Brain Lang. 2012 Oct;123(1):11-21
references: 22819308
references: Int J Lang Commun Disord. 1998 Oct-Dec;33(4):393-412
references: 10505140
references: Cereb Cortex. 2005 Aug;15(8):1261-9
references: 15635062
references: Neuropsychologia. 2008 Jan 31;46(2):649-58
references: 17961610
references: Brain Lang. 2007 Jan;100(1):23-43
references: 16908058
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Nov 26;93(24):13547-51
references: 8942970
references: J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2008 Jul;30(5):501-56
references: 18569251
references: Cortex. 2010 May;46(5):595-601
references: 19560132
references: J Cogn Neurosci. 2009 May;21(5):960-75
references: 18702579
references: Neuropsychologia. 2004;42(9):1212-22
references: 15178173
references: Brain Res. 2008 Sep 10;1229:167-78
references: 18656462
references: Neuropsychologia. 2008 Sep;46(11):2732-44
references: 18586284