Abstract

Degraded semantic memory is a prominent feature of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). It is classically associated with semantic dementia and anterior temporal lobe (ATL) atrophy, but semantic knowledge can also be compromised in behavioural variant FTD. Motivated by understanding behavioural change in FTD, recent research has focused selectively on social-semantic knowledge, with proposals that the right ATL is specialized for social concepts. Previous studies have assessed very different types of social concepts and have not compared performance with that of matched non-social concepts. Consequently, it remains unclear to what extent various social concepts are (i) concurrently impaired in FTD, (ii) distinct from general semantic memory and (iii) differentially supported by the left and right ATL. This study assessed multiple aspects of social-semantic knowledge and general conceptual knowledge across cohorts with ATL damage arising from either neurodegeneration or resection. We assembled a test battery measuring knowledge of multiple types of social concept. Performance was compared with non-social general conceptual knowledge, measured using the Cambridge Semantic Memory Test Battery and other matched non–social-semantic tests. Our trans-diagnostic approach included behavioural variant FTD, semantic dementia and ‘mixed’ intermediate cases to capture the FTD clinical spectrum, as well as age-matched healthy controls. People with unilateral left or right ATL resection for temporal lobe epilepsy were also recruited to assess how selective damage to the left or right ATL impacts social- and non–social-semantic knowledge. Social- and non–social-semantic deficits were severe and highly correlated in FTD. Much milder impairments were found after unilateral ATL resection, with no left versus right differences in social-semantic knowledge or general semantic processing and with only naming showing a greater deficit following left versus right damage. A principal component analysis of all behavioural measures in the FTD cohort extracted three components, interpreted as capturing (i) FTD severity, (ii) semantic memory and (iii) executive function. Social and non-social measures both loaded heavily on the same semantic memory component, and scores on this factor were uniquely associated with bilateral ATL grey matter volume but not with the degree of ATL asymmetry. Together, these findings demonstrate that both social- and non–social-semantic knowledge degrade in FTD (semantic dementia and behavioural variant FTD) following bilateral ATL atrophy. We propose that social-semantic knowledge is part of a broader conceptual system underpinned by a bilaterally implemented, functionally unitary semantic hub in the ATLs. Our results also highlight the value of a trans-diagnostic approach for investigating the neuroanatomical underpinnings of cognitive deficits in FTD.