Semantic Primary Progressive Aphasia

In this variant, people notice a loss of semantic knowledge (e.g., not being able to understand the meaning of words or to recognize objects or people).

What are the diagnostic features?
Must be present:
Anomia (impaired word retrieval in confrontation naming) Impaired single-word comprehension
At least three features among the following:
Impaired object knowledge, particularly for low-frequency and low-familiarity items Surface dyslexia or surface dysgraphia Spared repetition Spared speech production (grammar and motor speech)

Diagnostic features based on Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011

Videos courtesy of Dr Marilu Gorno-Tempini's team at
University of San Francisco (California), Memory and Aging Center

Other signs and symptoms often associated with the semantic variant PPA:

Considering that:

This disease affects the anterior temporal region of the brain, which is significantly involved in behaviour, and the right anterior temporal lobe is involved in the perception of pain and emotions (empathy/sympathy) and the regulation of compulsive/repetitive behaviours, the semantic variant of PPA is by far the variant that leads to most important significant behavioural changes. These can include: