Verbal inhibition in Frontotemporal Dementia: executive
deficit versus language alteration
Rodríguez-Suárez, N.*; García, M.**; Mayorga, P.***; Matallana, D.****
Introduction:
Early frontotemporal dementia (FTD symptoms include executive
functions and language difficulties. This study aims to evaluate
the ability to restrain an automatic word through a task named
The Hayling Sentence Completion Test (Burgess & Shallice,
1997). Task assesses automatic verbal inhibition: two sets of 15
sentences where the last word is missing, are given. Subjects
must complete sentences and the response pattern can provide
clinic information for early diagnosis.
Design and Methods:
Subjects:
N= 38 Colombian patients: 11 with primary progressive aphasia
(PPA) and 27 with behavioral variant (FTDbv). Sociodemographic
data are shown in figure 1.
Sociodemographic data
12
10
0Age
range
PPA BV
Figure 1: Study subjects
Procediment:
Subjects must complete, as fast as possible (Hayling test) 15
sentences with the last word missing. Part A requieres generation
of a sense word; part B subject must complete a  non-sense word
(inhibition part). Examples of phrases are:
He mailed the letter without a_____________
The captain wanted to stay with the sinking_____________
Non parametric analysis where carried out because the ausence
of normality in the data (Shapiro-Wilk analysis), so differences
between medians with Mann-Whitney U test where performed.
Results:
• Set A has greater data dispersion for PPA group with estadistic
significance difference in the Mann-Withney U test with p =
0,003. This result can be related with PPA lenguaje difficulty.
* Master Psychology enphase Clinic and Cognitive Neuropsychology (nathalia.rodriguez.suarez@gmail.com)
** Master Psychology enphase Clinic and Cognitive Neuropsychology (dmgarciaga@gmail.com)
*** Candidate Master Psychology enphase Clinic and Cognitive Neuropsychology (pilar.mayorgasierra@gmail.com)
**** PhD. Neuropsychology (dianamat@javeriana.edu.co)
Results:
• There isn’t statistically significant differences between variants
nor in global cualitative results (figure 2) but in analysis by each
phrase (figure 3)1.
Figure 2: Hayling global cualitative results Figure 3: Hayling cualitative results by each phrase
• There is a heterogeneous pattern in responses of each
sesntece’s test. This result can be due to diverse sintactyc
sentence’s structure, in example, some phrases ends with a
preposition (figure 4, phrase 13) and others with an adjective
(figure 5, phrase 5). Differences can be owing to reduce words
posibilities in adjective ending phrases compare to prepositions
ending phrases.
Figure 4: Phrase 13 results Figure 5: Phrase 5 results
• Contrast answers between variants seem to be for low non
sense but morphologic relation word in BV group (El médico le
diagnosticó una grave «enfermedad») and PPA goup tendence
to non sense but semathic relation word responses (El médico
le diagnosticó una grave «dolor»).
Conclusions:
• Cuantitative differences in set A and qualitative ones in set B
can be a tool for diferentiate FTD variants (BV and PPA).
• Diferences between FTD variants in Hayling Test are
identificable in adjective ending phrases more tan preposition
ending phrases.
• PPA pour morphological responses could be a language PPA
dificulties or due to better inhibition responses when PPA group
are compare with BV group.
References
Burgess, P. W., & Shallice, T. (1997). The hayling and brixton
tests.
1 In pictures acronyms meaning: Lost: misiing data, CR: sense word, NR: non sense word, NR-RM: non sense word but morphological relation with the
phrase, NR-RS: non sense word but semantic relation with the phrase, NR-REP: non sense word but previous presented, O: non answer.