The Importance of Being Familiar: The Role of Semantic Knowledge in the Activation of Emotions and Factual Knowledge from Music in the Semantic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Macoir, Joël^{a; b; *} | Tremblay, Marie-Pier^{b; c} | Wilson, Maximiliano A.^{a; d} | Laforce, Robert^{e; f; g} | Hudon, Carol^{b; c}

Affiliations: [a] Département de Réadaptation, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada | [b] Centre de recherche CERVO – Brain Research Centre, Québec, QC, Canada | [c] École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada | [d] Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS), Québec, QC, Canada | [e] Clinique Interdisciplinaire de Mémoire (CIME) du CHU de Québec, Département des sciences neurologiques, Québec, QC, Canada | [f] Département de Médecine, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada | [g] Research Chair on Primary Progressive Aphasia – Fondation Famille Lemaire, Québec, QC, Canada

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Joël Macoir, Département de Réadaptation, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Québec (Québec) G1K 7P4, Canada. Tel.: +1 418 656 2131 (ext. 12190); Fax: +1 418 656 5476; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: Background:The role of semantic knowledge in emotion recognition remains poorly understood. The semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is a degenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of semantic knowledge, while other cognitive abilities remain spared, at least in the early stages of the disease. The syndrome is therefore a reliable clinical model of semantic impairment allowing for testing the propositions made in theoretical models of emotion recognition. Objective:The main goal of this study was to investigate the role of semantic memory in the recognition of basic emotions conveyed by music in individuals with svPPA. Methods:The performance of 9 individuals with svPPA was compared to that of 32 control participants in tasks designed to investigate the ability: a) to differentiate between familiar and non-familiar musical excerpts, b) to associate semantic concepts to musical excerpts, and c) to recognize basic emotions conveyed by music. Results:Results revealed that individuals with svPPA showed preserved abilities to recognize familiar musical excerpts but impaired performance on the two other tasks. Moreover, recognition of basic emotions and association of musical excerpts with semantic concepts was significantly better for familiar than non-familiar musical excerpts in participants with svPPA. Conclusion:Results of this study have important implications for theoretical models of emotion recognition and music processing. They suggest that impairment of semantic memory in svPPA affects both the activation of emotions and factual knowledge from music and that this impairment is modulated by familiarity with musical tunes.

Keywords: Emotions, music, semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia, semantics

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-215083

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 115-128, 2022