Patterns of performance on the animal fluency task in logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia: A reflection of phonological and semantic skills.

Purpose: This study aimed to characterize the quantitative (total number of correct words generated) and qualitative (psycholinguistic properties of correct words generated) performance patterns on the animal fluency task in individuals with the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia and to investigate the influence of phonological and semantic abilities to these patterns.

Methods: Fifteen participants with lvPPA and twenty neurotypical adults completed the animal fluency task and an assessment battery to characterize their phonological and semantic abilities. We recorded the total number of correct words produced and their psycholinguistic properties.

Positive changes to written language following phonological treatment in logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia: Case report.

Phonological impairment contributes to deficits in repetition and spoken naming in logopenic variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (lvPPA), but weakened phonology can also affect written language skills. In this experimental case report, we demonstrate phonological text agraphia in a 71-year-old woman in the early stages of lvPPA that undermined her ability to write meaningful, grammatical sentences. We investigated the therapeutic value of a rigorous treatment protocol to strengthen phonological manipulation skills coupled with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).