Nonverbal oral apraxia in primary progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Objective The goal of this study was to explore the prevalence of nonverbal oral apraxia (NVOA), its association with other forms of apraxia, and associated imaging findings in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and progressive apraxia of speech (PAOS). Methods Patients with a degenerative speech or language disorder were prospectively recruited and diagnosed with a subtype of PPA or with PAOS. All patients had comprehensive speech and language examinations. Voxel-based morphometry was performed to determine whether atrophy of a specific region correlated with the presence of NVOA. Results Eighty-nine patients were identified, of which 34 had PAOS, 9 had agrammatic PPA, 41 had logopenic aphasia, and 5 had semantic dementia. NVOA was very common among patients with PAOS but was found in patients with PPA as well. Several patients exhibited only one of NVOA or apraxia of speech. Among patients with apraxia of speech, the severity of the apraxia of speech was predictive of NVOA, whereas ideomotor apraxia severity was predictive of the presence of NVOA in those without apraxia of speech. Bilateral atrophy of the prefrontal cortex anterior to the premotor area and supplementary motor area was associated with NVOA. Conclusions Apraxia of speech, NVOA, and ideomotor apraxia are at least partially separable disorders. The association of NVOA and apraxia of speech likely results from the proximity of the area reported here and the premotor area, which has been implicated in apraxia of speech. The association of ideomotor apraxia and NVOA among patients without apraxia of speech could represent disruption of modules shared by nonverbal oral movements and limb movements.

Key findings

• Results Eighty-nine patients were identified, of which 34 had PAOS, 9 had agrammatic PPA, 41 had logopenic aphasia, and 5 had semantic dementia.
• Bilateral atrophy of the prefrontal cortex anterior to the premotor area and supplementary motor area was associated with NVOA.
• The association of NVOA and apraxia of speech likely results from the proximity of the area reported here and the premotor area, which has been implicated in apraxia of speech.

Why it matters

Among 89 patients with degenerative speech or language disorders, nonverbal oral apraxia was very common in progressive apraxia of speech and also occurred in primary progressive aphasia, and bilateral atrophy of the prefrontal cortex anterior to the premotor and supplementary motor areas was associated with it. The study describes these conditions and their imaging findings only, with no treatment, cure or prevention.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Digital health →

Study details

• Evidence strengthLow

Read the original

• DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000000412
• PubMed: 24727315
• Original source →
• Free full text: Neurology →

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

@article{botha2014-24727315,
  author  = {Botha, H. and Duffy, JR. and Strand, E. A. and Machulda, M. M. and Whitwell, J. L. and Josephs, K. A.},
  title   = {{Nonverbal oral apraxia in primary progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech}},
  journal = {Neurology},
  year    = {2014},
  doi     = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000000412},
  pmid    = {24727315},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000000412}
}

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

• Cognition and anatomy in three variants of primary progressive aphasia Annals of neurology · 2004-03-01 · usefulness score 62/100 · Digital health tools

Later studies that cite this one

3 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.

• Motor Speech Phenotypes of Frontotemporal Dementia, Primary Progressive Aphasia, and Progressive Apraxia of Speech Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2017-04-01 · usefulness score 57/100 · Digital health tools
• Classification and clinicoradiologic features of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and apraxia of speech Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2015-05-27 · usefulness score 47/100 · Digital health tools
• Primary Progressive Aphasias and Apraxia of Speech Continuum (Minneapolis, Minn.) · 2019-02-01 · usefulness score 45/100 · Digital health tools

Related studies in Digital health tools

• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 positron emission tomography in progressive apraxia of speech and primary progressive aphasia variants Archives of neurology · 2010-05-01 · usefulness score 46/100
• Apraxia of speech and nonfluent aphasia: a new clinical marker for corticobasal degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy Current opinion in neurology · 2008-12-01 · usefulness score 46/100
• Automated Detection of Speech Timing Alterations in Autopsy-Confirmed Nonfluent/Agrammatic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia Neurology · 2022-05-27 · usefulness score 63/100
• A longitudinal study of speech production in primary progressive aphasia and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia Brain and language · 2019-05-07 · usefulness score 55/100
• Principles and philosophies for speech and language therapists working with people with primary progressive aphasia: an international expert consensus Disability and rehabilitation · 2022-03-30 · usefulness score 48/100
• Logopenic and nonfluent variants of primary progressive aphasia are differentiated by acoustic measures of speech production PloS one · 2014-02-28 · usefulness score 47/100

Also in Digital health tools

178 studies in the library are filed under Digital health tools with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Digital health tools hub.

• Substantia nigra tangles are related to gait impairment in older persons Annals of neurology · 2006-01-01 · usefulness score 66/100 · Digital health tools
• Central auditory processing in Alzheimer's disease Ear and hearing · 1995-04-01 · usefulness score 34/100 · Digital health tools
• ECG-based longitudinal risk prediction across diseases and organ systems medRxiv (preprint) · 2026-09-02 · usefulness score 16/100 · Digital health tools

Similar studies

• Clinicopathological and imaging correlates of progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech 2006 · Lewy body dementia
• Primary progressive aphasia 2001 · Getting a diagnosis
• Classification of primary progressive aphasia and its variants 2011 · Getting a diagnosis
• An overview on Primary Progressive Aphasia and its variants 2006 · Digital health tools
• Primary progressive aphasia: clinicopathological correlations 2010 · Getting a diagnosis
• Profiles of language impairment in primary progressive aphasia 1993 · Digital health tools

More on Digital health tools

• A review that covers this ground Effects of functional communication interventions for people with primary progressive aphasia and their caregivers: a systematic review Aging & mental health · 2019-05-28 · usefulness score 57/100
• Newest in this subject Speaker-Wise Dementia Screening fromNaturalistic Speech with Lexical Entropy, Semantic Drift, and Multimodal Fusion Research Square · 2026-10-21 · Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed · usefulness score 16/100
• Newest in this subject Integrating Multisource Target Evidence with Machine-Learning Potency Prediction for Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Discovery bioRxiv · 2026-10-20 · Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed · usefulness score 16/100

See all studies in Digital health tools →