title: Reversing Ribot: does regression hold in language of prodromal Alzheimer's disease?
abstract: We consider the regression or retrogenesis hypothesis, which argues that order of acquisition in development is reversed in neurodegeneration or pathology. Originally proposed as a regression hypothesis for the study of memory disorders, specifically retrograde amnesia, by Ribot (1881), it has been extended to the study of brain aging and pathology and to language. We investigate this hypothesis in a new study of language development, aging, and pathology. Through interuniversity collaboration using a matched experimental design and task, we compare production of complex sentences containing relative clauses by normal monolingual children during normal development, healthy young adults, healthy aging adults, and aging adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, a recognized potential harbinger of Alzheimer's disease. Our results refute the regression hypothesis in this area and lead to potential syntactic markers for prodromal Alzheimer's disease and predictions for future brain imaging analyses.
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. Electronic address: bc14@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lust
authors.affiliation: Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 32-D808, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: sflynn@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Psychology Assessment Center, One Bowdoin Square, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen Sherman
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, Department of Linguistics, Morrill Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gair
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cordella
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Whitlock
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital Psychology Assessment Center, One Bowdoin Square, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mancuso
authors.affiliation: Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Rochester, NY 14623, USA.
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costigan
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Immerman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D062706:Prodromal Symptoms; D012043:Regression, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Child development; Language; Mild cognitive impairment; Regression hypothesis; Ribot