Logopenic and nonfluent variants of primary progressive aphasia are differentiated by acoustic measures of speech production

Differentiation of logopenic (lvPPA) and nonfluent/agrammatic (nfvPPA) variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia is important yet remains challenging since it hinges on expert based evaluation of speech and language production. In this study acoustic measures of speech in conjunction with voxel-based morphometry were used to determine the success of the measures as an adjunct to diagnosis and to explore the neural basis of apraxia of speech in nfvPPA. Forty-one patients (21 lvPPA, 20 nfvPPA) were recruited from a consecutive sample with suspected frontotemporal dementia. Patients were diagnosed using the current gold-standard of expert perceptual judgment, based on presence/absence of particular speech features during speaking tasks. Seventeen healthy age-matched adults served as controls. MRI scans were available for 11 control and 37 PPA cases; 23 of the PPA cases underwent amyloid ligand PET imaging. Measures, corresponding to perceptual features of apraxia of speech, were periods of silence during reading and relative vowel duration and intensity in polysyllable word repetition. Discriminant function analyses revealed that a measure of relative vowel duration differentiated nfvPPA cases from both control and lvPPA cases (r2 = 0.47) with 88% agreement with expert judgment of presence of apraxia of speech in nfvPPA cases. VBM analysis showed that relative vowel duration covaried with grey matter intensity in areas critical for speech motor planning and programming: precentral gyrus, supplementary motor area and inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally, only affected in the nfvPPA group. This bilateral involvement of frontal speech networks in nfvPPA potentially affects access to compensatory mechanisms involving right hemisphere homologues. Measures of silences during reading also discriminated the PPA and control groups, but did not increase predictive accuracy. Findings suggest that a measure of relative vowel duration from of a polysyllable word repetition task may be sufficient for detecting most cases of apraxia of speech and distinguishing between nfvPPA and lvPPA

Schizotypy and Behavioural Adjustment and the Role of Neuroticism

In the present study the relationship between behavioural adjustment following cognitive conflict and schizotypy was investigated using a Stroop colour naming paradigm. Previous research has found deficits with behavioural adjustment in schizophrenia patients. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that individual differences in schizotypy, a personality trait reflecting the subclinical expression of the schizophrenia phenotype, would be associated with behavioural adjustment. Additionally, we investigated whether such a relationship would be explained by individual differences in neuroticism, a non-specific measure of negative trait emotionality known to be correlated with schizotypy. 106 healthy volunteers (mean age: 25.1, 60% females) took part. Post-conflict adjustment was measured in a computer-based version of the Stroop paradigm. Schizotypy was assessed using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and Neuroticism using the NEO-FFI. We found a negative correlation between schizotypy and post-conflict adjustment (r = -.30, p<.01); this relationship remained significant when controlling for effects of neuroticism. Regression analysis revealed that particularly the subscale No Close Friends drove the effect. Previous findings of deficits in cognitive control in schizophrenia patients were extended to the subclinical personality expression of the schizophrenia phenotype and found to be specific to schizotypal traits over and above the effects of negative emotionality

Exaggerated Waiting Impulsivity Associated with Human Binge Drinking, and High Alcohol Consumption in Mice

There are well-established links between impulsivity and alcohol use in humans and animal models; however, whether exaggerated impulsivity is a premorbid risk factor or a consequence of alcohol intake remains unclear. In a first approach, human young (18–25 years)social binge and non-binge drinkers were tested for motor impulsivity and attentional abilities in a human version of the Five-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task (Sx-5CSRTT), modeled on the rodent 5CSRTT. Participants completed four variants of the Sx-5CSRT,in addition to being screened for impulsive traits (BIS-11 questionnaire) and impulsive behavior (by means of the Delay Discounting Questionnaire, Two-Choice Impulsivity Paradigm (TCIP), Stop Signal Reaction Time, and Time Estimation Task). Using a second approach, we compared one of these impulsivity measures, 5CSRTT performance, in two inbred strains of mice known to differ in alcohol intake. Compared with non-bingers (NBD; n¼22), binge drinkers (BD, n¼22) showed robust impairments in attention and premature responding when evaluated under increased attentional load, in addition to presenting deficits in decision making using the TCIP. The best predictors for high binge drinking score were premature responding in the Sx-5CSRTT, trait impulsivity in the BIS-11,and decision making in the TCIP. Alcohol-naı¨ve C57BL/6J (B6) mice (alcohol preferring) were more impulsive in the 5CSRTT than DBA2/J (D2) mice (alcohol averse); the degree of impulsivity correlated with subsequent alcohol consumption. Homologous measures in animal and human studies indicate increased premature responding in young social BD and in the ethanol-preferring B6 strain of mice