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Nonfluent progressive aphasia and semantic dementia: a comparative neuropsychological study
Hodges JR, Patterson K.. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS, 1996-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Two patients with nonfluent progressive aphasia, who have been studied longitudinally, are contrasted with a group of 5 patients with fluent progressive aphasia or semantic dementia. The most prominent feature of the nonfluent syndrome is the severe distortion of speech output with phonological errors and agrammatic sentence structure. This contrasts with the fluent, well articulated and syntactically correct, but empty, anomic speech found in semantic dementia. Performance on tests of comprehension separates the patient groups: The nonfluent patients show normal single-word comprehension, but marked impairment on tests of syntactic comprehension, while those with semantic dementia demonstrate the opposite pattern. Category fluency is severely defective in semantic dementia, but initial letter-based fluency is more impaired in the nonfluent syndrome. Performance on nonverbally mediated tests of semantic knowledge is impaired in semantic dementia only. The 2 forms of progressive aphasia have in common the sparing of perceptual and visuospatial skills, nonverbal problem solving abilities, and day-to-day (episodic) memory. Neuroradiological investigations have shown marked selective and striking inferolateral left temporal lobe atrophy in all 5 patients with semantic dementia. The changes in nonfluent progressive aphasia appear to be less focal and involve left perisylvian structures more diffusely. These 2 forms of progressive aphasia are, we argue, distinct in their manifestations.
Key findings
- Performance on nonverbally mediated tests of semantic knowledge is impaired in semantic dementia only.
- The 2 forms of progressive aphasia have in common the sparing of perceptual and visuospatial skills, nonverbal problem solving abilities, and day-to-day (episodic) memory.
- Neuroradiological investigations have shown marked selective and striking inferolateral left temporal lobe atrophy in all 5 patients with semantic dementia.
- The changes in nonfluent progressive aphasia appear to be less focal and involve left perisylvian structures more diffusely.
- These 2 forms of progressive aphasia are, we argue, distinct in their manifestations.
Why it matters
This study compared two patients with nonfluent progressive aphasia with five patients with semantic dementia on neuropsychological tests. It describes differences in language and semantic knowledge, but it is about characterizing these conditions, not treating or curing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: journal h-index 176 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1996 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 305 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.5 citations a year over 32 year(s) since 1996 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 10.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 18 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Karalyn E. Patterson: h-index 101 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Cambridge: institution h-index 1,973 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9375155) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Hodges, JR., & Patterson, K. (1996). Nonfluent progressive aphasia and semantic dementia: a comparative neuropsychological study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355617700001685
Vancouver
Hodges JR, Patterson K. Nonfluent progressive aphasia and semantic dementia: a comparative neuropsychological study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS. 1996. doi:10.1017/s1355617700001685. PMID: 9375155.
BibTeX
@article{hodges1996-9375155,
author = {Hodges, JR. and Patterson, K.},
title = {{Nonfluent progressive aphasia and semantic dementia: a comparative neuropsychological study}},
journal = {Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1017/s1355617700001685},
pmid = {9375155},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355617700001685}
}
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