Event Abstract Back to Event Gray matter predictors of treatment outcomes in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia Heather R. Dial1*, Stephanie M. Grasso1, H. I. Hubbard2*, Kristin Schaffer1, Lisa Wauters1, Eduardo Europa3, Lindsey Wineholt4, Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini3 and Maya Henry1 1 University of Texas at Austin, United States 2 University of Kentucky, United States 3 University of California, San Francisco, United States 4 Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, United States Introduction/Method. Semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by anomia and single-word comprehension impairment in the context of anterior temporal lobe atrophy (left > right; Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011). Despite growing evidence supporting anomia treatment in svPPA, there is very little research investigating the neural bases of responsiveness to intervention. Existing research suggests relatively spared regions within the left hemisphere language network and right hemisphere language homologues may support treatment-induced gains (Dressel et al., 2010; Jokel et al., 2016; Meyer et al., 2017). Episodic memory has also been implicated in vocabulary re-learning in svPPA, suggesting a role for medial temporal lobe structures (Snowden & Neary, 2002). In the current study, we examined the relation between pre-treatment gray matter (GM) volumes and treatment outcomes following a lexical retrieval treatment in sixteen individuals with svPPA. Participants completed treatment designed to capitalize on residual semantic, episodic, orthographic and phonological processes to support word retrieval (e.g., Henry et al., in press). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to a) determine regions of significant atrophy in svPPA participants relative to controls and b) examine the relation between treatment outcomes (effect sizes for trained and untrained items) and pre-treatment GM volumes using both whole-brain and region of interest (ROI) approaches. Based on previous research, bilateral hippocampi as well as bilateral parahippocampal; superior, middle and inferior temporal; inferior and middle frontal; and inferior parietal gyri were selected as ROIs and examined relative to treatment outcomes via Pearson’s correlation. To determine whether regional GM volumes provide predictive value beyond overall disease severity and behavioral assessments, all analyses included total GM volume, Mini Mental State Exam and Boston Naming Test scores as covariates. Results/Conclusion. Following treatment, participants showed improvement on trained items (M d = 7.85, range = 1.28 to 19.36), with generalization to untrained items for some participants (M d = 1.27, range = -0.58 to 4.55). SvPPA participants showed left greater than right anterior temporal atrophy relative to controls (Figure 1a). Gains in naming for trained items were predicted by GM volumes in left inferior and middle frontal gyri and right inferior parietal cortex; generalization to untrained items was predicted by left superior frontal and parietal regions and left hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus (Figure 1b-c). ROI analyses confirmed the relation between GM volumes in left hippocampus and gains for untrained items (Figure 1d, r = 0.79, FDR-corrected p < 0.01), but no relation was observed for other ROIs for trained or untrained items. Thus, the structural integrity of anatomically preserved left hemisphere language network regions and homologous right hemisphere regions is predictive of improvement for trained and untrained items, suggesting that relatively spared linguistic processes support treatment-induced gains. Generalization to untrained items was also related to left hemisphere medial temporal lobe structures. Improved performance on untrained items may reflect the use of trained strategies to assist word retrieval, capitalizing on spared episodic memory for strategic components of the intervention. Future research should explore the relation between episodic memory and treatment outcomes in svPPA. Figure 1 Acknowledgements This research was supported by NIDCD Grant R01NS050915 (Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini); NIDCD Grant R01DC016291 (Maya L. Henry); NIDCD Grant R03DC013403 (Maya L. Henry); NIDCD Grant F31DC016229 (Stephanie M. Grasso); and NIDCD Grant F32DC016812 (Heather R. Dial). References Dressel, K., Huber, W., Frings, L., Kummerer, D., Saur, D., Mader, I., … Abel, S. (2010). Model-oriented naming therapy in semantic dementia: A single-case fMRI study. Aphasiology, 24, 1537-1558. Gorno-Tempini, M., Hillis, A., Weintraub, S., Kertesz, A., Mendez, M., Cappa, S., …Grossman, M. (2011). Classification of primary progressive aphasia and its variants. Neurology, 76, 1006-1014. Henry, M., Hubbard, H.I., Grasso, S., Dial, H., Beeson, P., Miller, B., & Gorno-Tempini, M.L. (in press). Treatment for word retrieval in semantic and logopenic variants of primary progressive aphasia: Immediate and long-term outcomes. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 1-27. Jokel, R., Kielar, A., Anderson, N., Black, S., Rochon, E., Graham, S., … Tang-Wai, D. (2016). Behavioral and neuroimaging changes after naming therapy for semantic variant primary progressive aphasia. Neuropsychologia, 89, 191-216. Meyer, A., Faria, A., Tippett, D., Hillis, A., & Friedman, R. (2017). The relationship between baseline volume in temporal areas and post-treatment naming accuracy in primary progressive aphasia. Aphasiology, 31, 1059-1077. Snowden, J., & Neary, D. (2002). Relearning of verbal labels in semantic dementia. Neuropsychologia, 40, 1715-1728. Keywords: semantic variant (svPPA), primary progressive aphasia, speech-language intervention, voxel-based morphometry, VBM, neural bases of treatment outcomes Conference: Academy of Aphasia 57th Annual Meeting, Macau, Macao, SAR China, 27 Oct - 29 Oct, 2019. Presentation Type: Poster presentation Topic: Not eligible for student award Citation: Dial HR, Grasso SM, Hubbard HI, Schaffer K, Wauters L, Europa E, Wineholt L, Gorno-Tempini M and Henry M (2019). Gray matter predictors of treatment outcomes in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia. Front. Hum. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: Academy of Aphasia 57th Annual Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2019.01.00118 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 06 May 2019; Published Online: 09 Oct 2019. * Correspondence: PhD. Heather R Dial, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78705, United States, heather.raye.dial@gmail.com PhD. H. I Hubbard, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, United States, isabelhubbard@uky.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Heather R Dial Stephanie M Grasso H. I Hubbard Kristin Schaffer Lisa Wauters Eduardo Europa Lindsey Wineholt Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini Maya Henry Google Heather R Dial Stephanie M Grasso H. I Hubbard Kristin Schaffer Lisa Wauters Eduardo Europa Lindsey Wineholt Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini Maya Henry Google Scholar Heather R Dial Stephanie M Grasso H. I Hubbard Kristin Schaffer Lisa Wauters Eduardo Europa Lindsey Wineholt Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini Maya Henry PubMed Heather R Dial Stephanie M Grasso H. 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