Category-specific verb-semantic deficits in Alzheimer's disease: Evidence from static and dynamic action naming

Cogn Neuropsychol. 2021 Feb;38(1):1-26. doi: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1858772. Epub 2021 Jan 17.

Abstract

We investigated the representation and breakdown of verb knowledge employing different syntactic and semantic classes of verbs in a group of individuals with probable Alzheimer's Disease (pAD). In an action naming task with coloured photographs (Fiez & Tranel, 1997. Standardized stimuli and procedures for investigating the retrieval of lexical and conceptual knowledge for action. Memory and Cognition, 25(4), 543-569. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03201129), pAD individuals were impaired for naming actions compared to objects. Verb tense was also affected, with simple-past (e.g., chopped) being more difficult to name than the gerundial form (e.g., chopping). Employing action-naming with short movies depicting events and states, we contrasted three verb classes based on their hypothetical structural and semantic/conceptual properties: argument structure, thematic structure, and conceptual templates. The three classes were: causatives (peel), verbs of perception (hear), and verbs of motion (run) Overall, results suggest that individuals with pAD are selectively impaired for verb tense and thematic assignment, but not conceptual-template complexity. Methodologically, we also show that dynamic scenes are more ecologically valid than static scenes to probe verb knowledge in AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Verb-semantic deficits; action naming; category-specific deficits; concepts; dynamic scenes; semantic templates; thematic hierarchy; thematic roles; verb meaning.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alzheimer Disease / psychology*
  • Cognition*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Movement*
  • Semantics*
  • Vocabulary*