English
Brain image showing the part of the brain effected by logopenic PPA

Logopenic Variant PPA

Logopenic Variant PPA (lvPPA) is one type of Primary Progressive Aphasia. lvPPA causes the brain to slowly lose the ability to work with the sounds of language. This happens because of changes in something called phonological working memory.

Phonological working memory is like a small “holding space” in your brain. It helps you hold on to sounds and words just long enough to use them.

You need this holding space to:

  • Understand and process what someone just said
  • Say or repeat words or sentences

lvPPA makes it hard to:

  • Come up with words in conversation or when naming things
  • Repeat sentences or phrases
  • Understand what someone is saying

May have trouble with:

Saying the sounds of words the right way
You might mix up sounds when trying to say a word.

Example:  If you want to say “helicopter,” you might say:

  • “hesicopter”
  • “hekilopter”
  • “Selehopter”

At first, these problems may only show up with long words, long sentences, or multi-step directions.
Later, even short words and sentences can become hard to understand, say, or repeat.

Not a problem in the earlier stages of lvPPA:

  • Including grammar markers. Your sentences may have pauses, but they are not missing grammar words like “is” or “the” or parts of words that change meaning like “-ed” in “walked” or “-ing” in “eating”.
  • Speech movements. Sounds in speech are not slurred or effortful.
  • Object knowledge is strong. You know what things are and facts about them.
  • Word meaning is usually understood, especially for shorter words that don’t contain a bunch of sounds.
  • Social behavior and personality are usually the same as before, especially early on.
  • Everyday memory for life events or faces is still okay, even if word recall is hard.

Non-language things that may happen as lvPPA gets worse:

  • Paying attention, especially when there are a lot of distractions
  • Thinking speed—you may need more time to think through things or finish a task

What causes lvPPA?

lvPPA is caused by changes in the brain over time. The biggest change happens in the area where the two brain parts meet:

  • The temporal lobe (helps with hearing and understanding words)
  • The parietal lobe (helps with holding on to sounds and ideas)

This area is called the temporal-parietal junction. It is important for holding sounds in your head and putting them together to make words and sentences.

In lvPPA, this part of your brain starts to shrink. This is called atrophy (say: AT-ruh-fee), which means your brain cells are slowly getting damaged or dying.

What causes the brain to shrink?

The shrinking happens because of abnormal proteins in your brain. In lvPPA, the two main proteins are called:

  • Amyloid plaques
  • Tau tangles, usually with 3 and 4 building blocks

These proteins are not supposed to build up in your brain. But in lvPPA, they do.

What are amyloid plaques?

Amyloid plaques (say: AM-uh-loyd plaks) are clumps of sticky protein that build up between your brain cells. They block messages from getting through. This makes it harder for your brain cells to talk to each other.

What are tau tangles?

Tau tangles (say: TOW tang-gulls) are twisted threads of protein inside your brain cells. They mess up the inside of the cells, so they can’t stay healthy or move things around.

Over time, the build-up of amyloid plaques and tau tangles causes your brain cells to die. As more brain cells are lost, your brain shrinks in that area.

That’s why it becomes harder to find words, repeat sentences, or understand long sentences, because the part of your brain that helps with these skills is damaged.

Are there other names for logopenic variant PPA?

People use different terms and short forms (also called acronyms) to talk about logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia. Here are the most common ones:

  • lvPPA
    This is the most common short form. It stands for logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia.
  • lv-PPA or L-PPA or PPA-Logopenic
    Some researchers use this shorthand. 
  • lvPPA-AD or AD-PPA
    This means lvPPA that is linked to Alzheimer’s-type plaques and tangles. 
  • Logopenic aphasia
    This is a shorter name, but it doesn’t show that the condition is progressive.
    Saying lvPPA is more clear and accurate.

Ways to Support the NAA

Donate to NAA
Become an Ambassador
Become a Volunteer
Shop Aphasia Marketplace