Role of the Basal Ganglia in Primary Progressive Aphasia
Advisor(s)
Borna Bonakdarpour MD; Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease
Discipline
Medical and Health Sciences
Start Date
21-4-2021 11:25 AM
End Date
21-4-2021 11:50 AM
Abstract
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurological syndrome in which there is a progressive decline in language processing. It results from the degeneration of brain tissue important for speech and language. Functional and structural neuroimaging techniques have discovered the major sites of atrophy (brain volume loss) and reveal patterns of language network abnormalities in each of the subtypes: PPA-G (agrammatic), PPA-L (logopenic), PPA-S (semantic). Patients’ diagnoses of variants are determined through behavioral analyses.
Resting-state fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) is sensitive to polysynaptic pathways in the brain and helps explore the anatomy and connectivity of neurocognitive networks. Most rs-fMRI studies have focused on cortical connectivity patterns in PPA. However, there has been a paucity of research studies investigating the role of basal ganglia in PPA. Basal ganglia have been proven to have a role in the underlying causes of neurodegenerative disease closely related to PPA. Therefore, this study used structural and functional imaging techniques to examine the connectivity between basal ganglia and the cortical regions involved in language processing in PPA. The study compares patients of all three variants of PPA and non-affected healthy individuals to identify differences in basal ganglia and cortical connectivity in variants of PPA.
Role of the Basal Ganglia in Primary Progressive Aphasia
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurological syndrome in which there is a progressive decline in language processing. It results from the degeneration of brain tissue important for speech and language. Functional and structural neuroimaging techniques have discovered the major sites of atrophy (brain volume loss) and reveal patterns of language network abnormalities in each of the subtypes: PPA-G (agrammatic), PPA-L (logopenic), PPA-S (semantic). Patients’ diagnoses of variants are determined through behavioral analyses.
Resting-state fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) is sensitive to polysynaptic pathways in the brain and helps explore the anatomy and connectivity of neurocognitive networks. Most rs-fMRI studies have focused on cortical connectivity patterns in PPA. However, there has been a paucity of research studies investigating the role of basal ganglia in PPA. Basal ganglia have been proven to have a role in the underlying causes of neurodegenerative disease closely related to PPA. Therefore, this study used structural and functional imaging techniques to examine the connectivity between basal ganglia and the cortical regions involved in language processing in PPA. The study compares patients of all three variants of PPA and non-affected healthy individuals to identify differences in basal ganglia and cortical connectivity in variants of PPA.