Reversing Ribot: does regression hold in language of prodromal Alzheimer's disease?

Barbara Lust; Suzanne Flynn; Janet Cohen Sherman; James Gair; Charles R Henderson Jr; Claire Cordella; Jordan Whitlock; Sarah Mancuso; Zhong Chen; Aileen Costigan; Alex Immerman

doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2015.01.013

Reversing Ribot: does regression hold in language of prodromal Alzheimer's disease?

Brain Lang. 2015 Apr:143:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2015.01.013. Epub 2015 Feb 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. Electronic address: bc14@cornell.edu.
² Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 32-D808, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: sflynn@mit.edu.
³ Massachusetts General Hospital Psychology Assessment Center, One Bowdoin Square, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
⁴ Cornell University, Department of Linguistics, Morrill Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
⁵ Cornell University, College of Human Ecology, G57, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
⁶ Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
⁷ Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Rochester, NY 14623, USA.

PMID: 25707009
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2015.01.013

Abstract

We consider the regression or retrogenesis hypothesis, which argues that order of acquisition in development is reversed in neurodegeneration or pathology. Originally proposed as a regression hypothesis for the study of memory disorders, specifically retrograde amnesia, by Ribot (1881), it has been extended to the study of brain aging and pathology and to language. We investigate this hypothesis in a new study of language development, aging, and pathology. Through interuniversity collaboration using a matched experimental design and task, we compare production of complex sentences containing relative clauses by normal monolingual children during normal development, healthy young adults, healthy aging adults, and aging adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, a recognized potential harbinger of Alzheimer's disease. Our results refute the regression hypothesis in this area and lead to potential syntactic markers for prodromal Alzheimer's disease and predictions for future brain imaging analyses.

Keywords: Aging; Child development; Language; Mild cognitive impairment; Regression hypothesis; Ribot.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / pathology
Aging / psychology
Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis
Alzheimer Disease / psychology*
Brain / pathology
Child
Child, Preschool
Cognitive Dysfunction / diagnosis
Cognitive Dysfunction / psychology*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Language*
Male
Prodromal Symptoms*
Regression, Psychology*
Young Adult

Grants and funding

P50 AG005134/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States