Aline Nunes da Cruz

A behavioral study of the nature of verb production deficits in Alzheimer’s disease

Patients with Alzheimers disease (AD) may experience greater difficulty with verb production than with noun production. In this study, we sought to assess the nature of verb production deficits in AD by using verb fluency and verb naming tasks. We designed two hypotheses for this verb deficit: (1) executive impairment drives the deficit; (2) semantic impairment drives the deficit. Thirty-five patients with AD and 35 matched healthy controls participated in the study. Both groups performed a verb naming task composed of 45 pictures (low-, medium-, and high-frequency subsets) and a verb fluency task (scored for total correct words and for mean word frequency). Patients with AD were equally impaired in verb naming and verb fluency, with an effect of disease severity on verb naming. Word frequency influenced verb naming, but not verb fluency, performance. Our results indicate that verb production deficits in AD seem to be driven more by semantic than by executive impairment.

Deep Brain Stimulation Frequency of the Subthalamic Nucleus Affects Phonemic and Action Fluency in Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) in Parkinsons disease (PD) has been linked to a decline in verbal fluency. The decline can be attributed to surgical effects, but the relative contributions of the stimulation parameters are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the frequency of STN-DBS on the performance of verbal fluency tasks in patients with PD. Methods. Twenty individuals with PD who received bilateral STN-DBS were evaluated. Their performances of verbal fluency tasks (semantic, phonemic, action, and unconstrained fluencies) upon receiving low-frequency (60 Hz) and high-frequency (130 Hz) STN-DBS were assessed. Results. The performances of phonemic and action fluencies were significantly different between low- and high-frequency STN-DBS. Patients showed a decrease in these verbal fluencies for high-frequency STN-DBS. Conclusion. Low-frequency STN-DBS may be less harmful to the verbal fluency of PD patients.

Aspectos de comunicação oral em pacientes com doença de Parkinson submetidos à Estimulação Cerebral Profunda

INTRODUCTION Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has been satisfactorily used to control the cardinal motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease (PD), but little is known about its impact on communication. PURPOSE This study aimed to characterize the aspects of cognition, language, speech, voice, and self-perception in two patients with PD, pre- and post- DBS implant surgery. METHODS The patients were assessed using a cognitive screening test, a brief language evaluation, a self-declared protocol, and an analysis of the aspects of voice and speech, which was conducted by a specialized Speech-language Therapist who was blinded for the study. RESULTS At the pre-surgery assessment, Case I showed impairment regarding the aspects of cognition, language and voice, whereas Case II showed impairment only with respect to the voice aspect. The post-surgery evaluation of the cases showed an opposite pattern of the effect of DBS after analysis of the communication data: Case I, who presented greater impairment before the surgery, showed improvement in some aspects; Case II, who presented lower communicative impairment before the surgery, showed worsening in other aspects. CONCLUSION This study shows that DBS may influence different communication aspects both positively and negatively. Factors associated with the different effects caused by DBS on the communication of patients with PD need to be further investigated.Introduction Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has been satisfactorily used to control the cardinal motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but little is known about its impact on communication. Purpose This study aimed to characterize the aspects of cognition, language, speech, voice, and self-perception in two patients with PD, pre- and post- DBS implant surgery. Methods The patients were assessed using a cognitive screening test, a brief language evaluation, a self-declared protocol, and an analysis of the aspects of voice and speech, which was conducted by a specialized Speech-language Therapist who was blinded for the study. Results At the pre-surgery assessment, Case I showed impairment regarding the aspects of cognition, language and voice, whereas Case II showed impairment only with respect to the voice aspect. The post-surgery evaluation of the cases showed an opposite pattern of the effect of DBS after analysis of the communication data: Case I, who presented greater impairment before the surgery, showed improvement in some aspects; Case II, who presented lower communicative impairment before the surgery, showed worsening in other aspects. Conclusion This study shows that DBS may influence different communication aspects both positively and negatively. Factors associated with the different effects caused by DBS on the communication of patients with PD need to be further investigated.