Occupation attributes relate to location of atrophy in frontotemporal lobar degeneration

▶ We investigated the relationship between premorbid occupations and asymmetric atrophy in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) patients. ▶ Patients whose professions placed high demands on language and mathematics had relatively preserved left temporal relative to right temporal volumes. ▶ Occupation selection occurring in early adulthood is related to lateralized brain asymmetry in patients who develop FTLD decades later in the relatively deficient hemisphere.