Polka Music and Semantic Dementia: Not Such a Barrel of Fun

Semantic dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder in the general class of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Atrophy occurs bilaterally in the anterior temporal lobes, with the left hemisphere affected to a greater extent (Lambon Ralph & Patterson, 2008). Patients gradually lose semantic memory abilities (e.g., memory for word meanings and conceptual knowledge). Alterations in personality, interests, and tastes can be observed in some patients. A unique case study documented an increasing interest in polka music with the progression of semantic dementia (Boeve & Geda, 2001):

A man exhibited typical features of semantic dementia (Neary et al., 1998), with onset at age 52. At age 55, he became infatuated with polka music. He would sit in his car in the garage and listen to polka on the radio or on cassettes, often for as long as 12 to 18 hours. Whereas some may argue that enjoying polka music is in itself pathologic, we view this patient’s new appreciation of polka similar to that recently described with pop music in two patients with frontotemporal dementia (Geroldi et al., 2000). Thus, heterogeneity in musical taste is yet one more dimension bridging semantic dementia and frontotemporal dementia.

The progression of atrophy in the temporal lobes is shown below. The relative preservation of the frontal lobes is noteworthy.

Figure (Boeve & Geda, 2001). Representative T1-weighted coronal MRI at ages 53 (top row) and 55 (bottom row) are shown. Note progressive atrophy of the left amygdala and temporal cortex, and although a definitive causal relationship cannot be made, the right amygdala and temporal cortex atrophy has evolved in concert with the patient’s polka music obsession.

Roll Out the Barrel

. . .

Chorus:

Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun

Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run

Zing boom tararrel, ring out a song of good cheer
Now's the time to roll the barrel, for the gang's all here

- lyrics courtesy of NIEHS, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services

via @UCSDCogNeuro

References

Boeve BF, Geda YE (2001). Polka music and semantic dementia. Neurology, 57 (8) PMID: 11673594

Geroldi C, Metitieri T, Binetti G, Zanetti O, Trabucchi M, Frisoni G. (2000). Pop music and frontotemporal dementia. Neurology 55: 1935–1936.

Lambon Ralph MA, Patterson K. (2008). Generalization and Differentiation in Semantic Memory: Insights from Semantic Dementia. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1124:61-76.

Neary D, Snowden J, Gustafson L, et al. (1998). Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a consensus on clinical diagnostic criteria. Neurology 51: 1546–1554.

"Beer Barrel Polka": Myron Floren on accordion
Bobby Burgess and Lawrence Welk dance with Cissy King