Processing of wh-questions in a case of posterior cortical atrophy

Abstract

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a type of dementia that is characterized by visuo-spatial and memory deficits, dyslexia and dysgraphia, relatively early onset and preserved insight. Language deficits have been reported in some cases of PCA. Using an off-line grammaticality judgement task, processing of wh-questions is investigated in a case of PCA. Other aspects of auditory language are also reported. It is shown that processing of wh-questions is influenced by syntactic structure, a novel finding in this condition. The results are discussed with reference to accounts of wh-questions in aphasia. An uneven profile of other language abilities is reported with deficits in digit span (forward, backward), story retelling ability, comparative questions but intact abilities in following commands, repetition, concept definition, generative naming and discourse comprehension.

Keywords:

• Dementia
• posterior cortical atrophy
• wh-questions

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank SA and her husband for their willingness to take part in this study and Marielle Kay for referring SA. I would also like to thank V. Chondrogianni, S. Edwards, T. Marinis, N. Riches, P. Riddell and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions and comments. This project was funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust (UK) (R60/07/07) and the University of Reading RETF pump-priming scheme. A version of this paper was presented at the 2008 Academy of Aphasia meeting in Turku (Finland).

Note

1. The SPH also extends to declarative sentences and sentences with quantifiers but the discussion here is restricted to wh-questions. A fuller account of the SPH is given in Salis and Edwards (2008).