Lectures by Prof. Stefano Cappa “Language disorders in neurodegeneration” and “The primary progressive aphasias”

Prof. Stefano Cappa is from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy

On September 29, October 1 Stefano Cappa presented talks on “Language disorders in neurodegeneration” and “The primary progressive aphasias” in the Neurolinguistics Laboratory.
 
“Language disorders in neurodegeneration”
Lecture abstract: Classical aphasiology was based on the study of the effect of focal brain lesions (usually stroke or tumors) on linguistic functions. Neurodegenerative brain disorders were considered as less suitable to understand the linguistic brain, because of their supposed "global" nature and for the limits on clinico-anatomical correlations. This situation has changed dramatically in the last two decades, for a number of reasons, both practical and theoretical. Nowadays it is fully recognized that neurodegenerative disorders provide important insights about central neurolingustic issues, such as the effect of progressive degradation and the role of extraperisylvian brain areas on language function.

 “The primary progressive aphasias”
Lecture abstract: While language can be affected in most neurodegenerative disorders in combination with other aspects of cognitive dysfunction, there is a group of conditions in which an isolated language impairment can be the main clinical features for many years. These "primary progressive aphasias", as defined by Mesulam in 1982, are heterogeneous both clinically and neuropathologically, and are now more frequently diagnosed because of increased awareness and improved diagnostic criteria. Besides their contribution to neurolinguisitcs, these conditions are associated with specific diagnostic and management problems in clinical practice.