Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder

This protocol describes a study aimed at evaluating the psychometric properties of the ExéSem battery, developed to differentiate semantic deficits from executive semantic impairments in patients with post-lesional or neurodegenerative anomia. Currently available tools do not allow a straightforward distinction between these deficits, limiting diagnostic accuracy and clinical management. The ExéSem battery was developed through a collaboration between Hospices Civils de Lyon, the University of Mons, and Laval University to address this gap. The battery includes three main tasks: (1) a dual task combining semantic judgment and semantic matching using identical items, (2) a word-picture matching task, and (3) a rapid naming task. Each task is designed to manipulate the level of executive control required to access semantic representations. This allows the identification of whether performance declines under increased executive demand, thereby distinguishing executive-related semantic impairments.