Semantic dementia: a unique clinicopathological syndrome

Lancet Neurol. 2007 Nov;6(11):1004-14. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(07)70266-1.

Abstract

Semantic dementia (SD), one of the main clinical variants of frontotemporal dementia, presents a unique combination of clinical and imaging abnormalities. We describe the epidemiological, cognitive, and radiological features of SD. The distinctive and consistent neuropsychological deficits in this disorder have had a major effect on current conceptions of the organisation of semantic memory and its links to episodic memory, language, and perceptual processes. Structural (MRI) and functional (fluorodeoxyglucose-PET) studies in SD emphasise the role of the temporopolar and perirhinal cortices. Unlike other frontotemporal dementia syndromes, the neuropathological findings in SD are fairly predictable: most patients have ubiquitin-positive, tau-negative neuronal inclusions.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Dementia / diagnosis
  • Dementia / physiopathology
  • Dementia / psychology*
  • Frontal Lobe / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Memory
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Temporal Lobe / pathology
  • Temporal Lobe / physiopathology
  • Verbal Behavior*