Table 1.
Domains of speech and language, example tasks, and expected observations in a comprehensive evaluation of primary progressive aphasia (PPA).
| Domain | Example tasks | Expected observations in svPPA | Expected observations in nfvPPA | Expected observations in lvPPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected speech | Answer open-ended questions; verbal picture description | Use of simple or vague language; semantic paraphasias, circumlocution | Slow rate of speech; speech sound errors; simple or agrammatic sentences | Frequent word-finding difficulty; circumlocution; phonemic paraphasias |
| Motor speech | Diadochokinesis (DDK) | No motoric deficit | Consonant and/or vowel distortions on DDK | Phonological sequencing errors on sequential motor rates |
| Repetition | Repeat words/sentences | Relatively preserved | Difficulty with polysyllabic words and long sentences | Difficulty with polysyllabic words and long sentences |
| Auditory comprehension | Spoken word-to-picture matching; follow commands | Difficulty on words or commands involving low frequency nouns or verbs | Relatively intact auditory comprehension; difficulty following commands with complex grammar | Word comprehension relatively intact; difficulty following longer commands |
| Reading | Regular/irregular word and pseudoword reading; passage reading | Difficulty with irregular words | Slow rate; speech sound errors; agrammatic text reading | Difficulty with pseudowords |
| Writing | Regular/irregular word and pseudoword spelling; written picture description | Difficulty with irregular words | Spelling words relatively intact; simple or agrammatic sentences | Difficulty with pseudowords |
| Naming | Generative naming; confrontation naming | Impaired; semantic paraphasias | Relatively preserved | Impaired; phonemic paraphasias and/or circumlocution |
| Semantics | Match semantically related words and/or pictures | Low accuracy on low frequency words and less common objects | Relatively preserved | Relatively preserved |
| Phonology | Phoneme deletion; phoneme blending | Relatively preserved | Impaired in some patients | Impaired |
| Syntax | Building sentences with word cards; sentence-to-picture matching | Relatively preserved, but difficulty if sentences involve low frequency words | Impaired on complex sentences | Impaired on long sentences |
Note. svPPA = semantic variant primary progressive aphasia; nfvPPA = nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia; lvPPA = logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia.