title: Identification of environmental sounds and melodies in syndromes of anterior temporal lobe degeneration.
abstract: Recognition of nonverbal sounds in semantic dementia and other syndromes of anterior temporal lobe degeneration may determine clinical symptoms and help to define phenotypic profiles. However, nonverbal auditory semantic function has not been widely studied in these syndromes. Here we investigated semantic processing in two key nonverbal auditory domains - environmental sounds and melodies - in patients with semantic dementia (SD group; n=9) and in patients with anterior temporal lobe atrophy presenting with behavioural decline (TL group; n=7, including four cases with MAPT mutations) in relation to healthy older controls (n=20). We assessed auditory semantic performance in each domain using novel, uniform within-modality neuropsychological procedures that determined sound identification based on semantic classification of sound pairs. Both the SD and TL groups showed comparable overall impairments of environmental sound and melody identification; individual patients generally showed superior identification of environmental sounds than melodies, however relative sparing of melody over environmental sound identification also occurred in both groups. Our findings suggest that nonverbal auditory semantic impairment is a common feature of neurodegenerative syndromes with anterior temporal lobe atrophy. However, the profile of auditory domain involvement varies substantially between individuals.
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hannah L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Golden
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Downey
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Philip D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Colin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schott
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Catherine J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mummery
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sebastian J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crutch
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: jason.warren@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Environmental sounds; Frontotemporal dementia; Frontotemporal lobar degeneration; Music; Semantic; Semantic dementia
references.citation: Brain. 2009 May;132(Pt 5):1287-98
references.pmid: 19297506
references.citation: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;82(11):1274-8
references.pmid: 21531705
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Nov;999:50-7
references.pmid: 14681117
references.citation: Cogn Behav Neurol. 2011 Jun;24(2):74-84
references.pmid: 21617528
references.citation: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Mar;10(3):444-52
references.pmid: 24847111
references.citation: Brain. 1994 Apr;117 ( Pt 2):281-7
references.pmid: 8186955
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 2011 Feb;68(2):248-50
references.pmid: 21320991
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 1990;28(3):257-70
references.pmid: 2325838
references.citation: Lancet Neurol. 2007 Nov;6(11):1004-14
references.pmid: 17945154
references.citation: Neurology. 2011 Mar 15;76(11):1006-14
references.pmid: 21325651
references.citation: Brain. 2011 Sep;134(Pt 9):2523-34
references.pmid: 21857031
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2007 Apr 9;45(8):1823-31
references.pmid: 17270222
references.citation: Brain. 2011 Sep;134(Pt 9):2565-81
references.pmid: 21908872
references.citation: Brain. 2003 Apr;126(Pt 4):928-45
references.pmid: 12615649
references.citation: Brain. 2006 Oct;129(Pt 10):2533-53
references.pmid: 16845129
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2010 Feb 1;49(3):2764-73
references.pmid: 19854279
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2009 Oct 1;47(4):1778-91
references.pmid: 19465134
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Jul;1169:256-65
references.pmid: 19673789
references.citation: Neurocase. 2014;20(6):684-94
references.pmid: 23998300
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Feb 9;107(6):2717-22
references.pmid: 20133780
references.citation: Neurology. 2009 Nov 3;73(18):1443-50
references.pmid: 19884571
references.citation: J Neurol. 2010 Mar;257(3):475-7
references.pmid: 19937047
references.citation: Neurocase. 2009 Jun;15(3):248-59
references.pmid: 19253088
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2012 May 15;61(1):170-80
references.pmid: 22405732
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 1996 Nov;8(6):481-96
references.pmid: 23961980
references.citation: Brain. 2010 Jan;133(Pt 1):272-85
references.pmid: 19797352
references.citation: Front Psychol. 2011 Jun 09;2:110
references.pmid: 21713060
references.citation: Front Psychol. 2013 Jun 21;4:347
references.pmid: 23801975
references.citation: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2013 Jan;84(1):88-93
references.pmid: 23138765
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2000;38(9):1207-15
references.pmid: 10865096
references.citation: J Neurol Sci. 2010 Jun 15;293(1-2):35-8
references.pmid: 20400120
references.citation: Brain. 2011 Sep;134(Pt 9):2456-77
references.pmid: 21810890
references.citation: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2011 Dec;82(12):1341-3
references.pmid: 21172863
references.citation: Neurocase. 2005 Oct;11(5):371-83
references.pmid: 16251138
references.citation: Brain. 2010 Apr;133(Pt 4):1200-13
references.pmid: 20142334
references.citation: Brain. 1994 Dec;117 ( Pt 6):1283-301
references.pmid: 7820566
references.citation: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2009 Jul;80(7):808-9
references.pmid: 19531690
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2011 Oct;23(10):3121-31
references.pmid: 21391767