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Balgova E, Diveica V, Jackson RL, Binney RJ. Overlapping neural correlates underpin theory of mind and semantic cognition: Evidence from a meta-analysis of 344 functional neuroimaging studies. Neuropsychologia 2024; 200:108904. [PMID: 38759780 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Key unanswered questions for cognitive neuroscience include whether social cognition is underpinned by specialised brain regions and to what extent it simultaneously depends on more domain-general systems. Until we glean a better understanding of the full set of contributions made by various systems, theories of social cognition will remain fundamentally limited. In the present study, we evaluate a recent proposal that semantic cognition plays a crucial role in supporting social cognition. While previous brain-based investigations have focused on dissociating these two systems, our primary aim was to assess the degree to which the neural correlates are overlapping, particularly within two key regions, the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). We focus on activation associated with theory of mind (ToM) and adopt a meta-analytic activation likelihood approach to synthesise a large set of functional neuroimaging studies and compare their results with studies of semantic cognition. As a key consideration, we sought to account for methodological differences across the two sets of studies, including the fact that ToM studies tend to use nonverbal stimuli while the semantics literature is dominated by language-based tasks. Overall, we observed consistent overlap between the two sets of brain regions, especially in the ATL and TPJ. This supports the claim that tasks involving ToM draw upon more general semantic retrieval processes. We also identified activation specific to ToM in the right TPJ, bilateral anterior mPFC, and right precuneus. This is consistent with the view that, nested amongst more domain-general systems, there is specialised circuitry that is tuned to social processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Balgova
- Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, Bangor University, Gwynedd, Wales, UK; Department of Psychology, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion, Wales, UK
| | - Veronica Diveica
- Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, Bangor University, Gwynedd, Wales, UK; Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rebecca L Jackson
- Department of Psychology & York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
| | - Richard J Binney
- Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, Bangor University, Gwynedd, Wales, UK.
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2
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Quesque F, Nivet M, Etchepare A, Wauquiez G, Prouteau A, Desgranges B, Bertoux M. Social cognition in neuropsychology: A nationwide survey revealing current representations and practices. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2024; 31:689-702. [PMID: 35486070 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2022.2061859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
As a key domain of cognition, social cognition abilities are altered in a wide range of clinical groups. Accordingly, many clinical tests and theories of social cognition have been developed these last decades. Contrasting this abundant development from a research perspective, recent evidence suggests that social cognition remains rarely addressed from a clinial perspective. The aim of the present research was to characterize the current practices, representations, and needs linked to social cognition from the perspective of professional neuropsychologists and graduate students. A nationwide survey allowed us to determine the classical field conception of social cognition and its associated symptoms or notions. It also allowed us to quantify practice activities and the use of the different clinical tools available. This study revealed that neuropsychologists lack confidence regarding social cognition assessment and its rehabilitation, and that students are in demand for more knowledge and training. Suggestions of change in practices and dissemination of knowledge are discussed. Considering the importance of social cognition, an extension of initial and continuous training alongside an enrichment of interactions between researchers and clinicians were key recommendations to formulate, as well as the need for a consensual lexicon of current concepts.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Quesque
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, LiCEND, DistALZ, Lille, France
- Centre National de Référence des Malformations et Maladies Congénitales du Cervelet, Département de Neurologie Pédiatrique, CHU de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Maxime Nivet
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, LiCEND, DistALZ, Lille, France
| | - Aurore Etchepare
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Hospital Center of Jonzac, Univ. Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Grégoire Wauquiez
- Organisation Française des Psychologues spécialisés en Neuropsychologie, Paris, France
- Service de rééducation neurologique, CHU de Dijon, Dijon, France
| | - Antoinette Prouteau
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Hospital Center of Jonzac, Univ. Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Béatrice Desgranges
- Normandie Université, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, Inserm, U1077, CHU de Caen, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Maxime Bertoux
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, LiCEND, DistALZ, Lille, France
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3
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Ohm DT, Xie SX, Capp N, Arezoumandan S, Cousins KAQ, Rascovsky K, Wolk DA, Van Deerlin VM, Lee EB, McMillan CT, Irwin DJ. Cytoarchitectonic gradients of laminar degeneration in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.05.588259. [PMID: 38644997 PMCID: PMC11030243 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.05.588259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a clinical syndrome primarily caused by either tau (bvFTD-tau) or TDP-43 (bvFTD-TDP) proteinopathies. We previously found lower cortical layers and dorsolateral regions accumulate greater tau than TDP-43 pathology; however, patterns of laminar neurodegeneration across diverse cytoarchitecture in bvFTD is understudied. We hypothesized that bvFTD-tau and bvFTD-TDP have distinct laminar distributions of pyramidal neurodegeneration along cortical gradients, a topologic order of cytoarchitectonic subregions based on increasing pyramidal density and laminar differentiation. Here, we tested this hypothesis in a frontal cortical gradient consisting of five cytoarchitectonic types (i.e., periallocortex, agranular mesocortex, dysgranular mesocortex, eulaminate-I isocortex, eulaminate-II isocortex) spanning anterior cingulate, paracingulate, orbitofrontal, and mid-frontal gyri in bvFTD-tau (n=27), bvFTD-TDP (n=47), and healthy controls (HC; n=32). We immunostained all tissue for total neurons (NeuN; neuronal-nuclear protein) and pyramidal neurons (SMI32; non-phosphorylated neurofilament) and digitally quantified NeuN-immunoreactivity (ir) and SMI32-ir in supragranular II-III, infragranular V-VI, and all I-VI layers in each cytoarchitectonic type. We used linear mixed-effects models adjusted for demographic and biologic variables to compare SMI32-ir between groups and examine relationships with the cortical gradient, long-range pathways, and clinical symptoms. We found regional and laminar distributions of SMI32-ir expected for HC, validating our measures within the cortical gradient framework. While SMI32-ir loss was not related to the cortical gradient in bvFTD-TDP, SMI32-ir progressively decreased along the cortical gradient of bvFTD-tau and included greater SMI32-ir loss in supragranular eulaminate-II isocortex in bvFTD-tau vs bvFTD-TDP ( p =0.039). In a structural model for long-range laminar connectivity between infragranular mesocortex and supragranular isocortex, we found a larger laminar ratio of mesocortex-to-isocortex SMI32-ir in bvFTD-tau vs bvFTD-TDP ( p =0.019), suggesting select long-projecting pathways may contribute to isocortical-predominant degeneration in bvFTD-tau. In cytoarchitectonic types with the highest NeuN-ir, we found lower SMI32-ir in bvFTD-tau vs bvFTD-TDP ( p =0.047), suggesting pyramidal neurodegeneration may occur earlier in bvFTD-tau. Lastly, we found that reduced SMI32-ir related to behavioral severity and frontal-mediated letter fluency, not temporal-mediated confrontation naming, demonstrating the clinical relevance and specificity of frontal pyramidal neurodegeneration to bvFTD-related symptoms. Our data suggest loss of neurofilament-rich pyramidal neurons is a clinically relevant feature of bvFTD that selectively worsens along a frontal cortical gradient in bvFTD-tau, not bvFTD-TDP. Therefore, tau-mediated degeneration may preferentially involve pyramidal-rich layers that connect more distant cytoarchitectonic types. Moreover, the hierarchical arrangement of cytoarchitecture along cortical gradients may be an important neuroanatomical framework for identifying which types of cells and pathways are differentially involved between proteinopathies.
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Lindberg O, Li TQ, Lind C, Vestberg S, Almkvist O, Stiernstedt M, Ericson A, Bogdanovic N, Hansson O, Harper L, Westman E, Graff C, Tsevis T, Mannfolk P, Fischer H, Nilsonne G, Petrovic P, Nyberg L, Wahlund LO, Santillo AF. Altered empathy processing in frontotemporal dementia A task-based fMRI study. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.21.586051. [PMID: 38585830 PMCID: PMC10996471 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.21.586051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
A lack of empathy, and particularly its affective components, is a core symptom of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Visual exposure to images of a needle pricking a hand (pain condition) and Q-tips touching a hand (control condition) is an established functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm used to investigate empathy for pain (EFP; pain condition minus control condition). EFP has been associated with increased blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in regions known to become atrophic in the early stages in bvFTD, including the anterior insula and the anterior cingulate. We therefore hypothesized that patients with bvFTD would display altered empathy processing in the EFP paradigm. Here we examined empathy processing using the EFP paradigm in 28 patients with bvFTD and 28 sex and age matched controls. Participants underwent structural MRI, task-based and resting-state fMRI. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) was used as a measure of different facets of empathic function outside the scanner. The EFP paradigm was analysed at a whole brain level and using two regions-of-interest approaches, one based on a metanalysis of affective perceptual empathy versus cognitive evaluative empathy and one based on the controĺs activation pattern. In controls, EFP was linked to an expected increase of BOLD signal that displayed an overlap with the pattern of atrophy in the bvFTD patients (insula and anterior cingulate). Additional regions with increased signal were the supramarginal gyrus and the occipital cortex. These latter regions were the only ones that displayed increased BOLD signal in bvFTD patients. BOLD signal increase under the affective perceptual empathy but not the cognitive evaluative empathy region of interest was significantly greater in controls than in bvFTD patients. The controĺs rating on their empathic concern subscale of the IRI was significantly correlated with the BOLD signal in the EFP paradigm, as were an informantś ratings of the patientś empathic concern subscale. This correlation was not observed on other subscales of the IRI or when using the patient's self-ratings. Finally, controls and patients showed different connectivity patterns in empathy related networks during resting-state fMRI, mainly in nodes overlapping the ventral attention network. Our results indicate that reduced neural activity in regions typically affected by pathology in bvFTD is associated with reduced empathy processing, and a predictor of patientś capacity to experience affective empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof Lindberg
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Tie-Qiang Li
- Department of Clinical Science, Intervention, and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Department of Medical Radiation and Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Lind
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, geriatrics Umeå university, Umeå university, Sweden
| | | | - Ove Almkvist
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikael Stiernstedt
- Umeå center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Sweden
| | - Anita Ericson
- Department of community medicine and rehabilitation, geriatrics Umeå university, Umeå university, Sweden
| | - Nenad Bogdanovic
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Oskar Hansson
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Luke Harper
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Eric Westman
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Caroline Graff
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
- Karolinska university hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Theofanis Tsevis
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
- Karolinska university hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peter Mannfolk
- Department of Medical Imaging and Physiology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
| | - Håkan Fischer
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm University Brain Imaging Centre (SUBIC), Stockholm, Sweden
- Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustav Nilsonne
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
| | - Predrag Petrovic
- Center for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
| | - Lars Nyberg
- Umeå center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Sweden
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Medical and Translational Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lars-Olof Wahlund
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Centre for Alzheimer Research, Neo, 14183 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Alexander F Santillo
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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St-Georges MA, Wang L, Chapleau M, Migliaccio R, Carrier T, Montembeault M. Social cognition and behavioral changes in patients with posterior cortical atrophy. J Neurol 2024; 271:1439-1450. [PMID: 38032370 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-12089-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare neurodegenerative condition characterized by progressive visual and visuospatial dysfunction. The consensus criteria state that patients should present "relatively spared behavior and personality" in early stages. However, limited research has focused on these symptoms in PCA. This study compared 157 patients with PCA in early stages of the disease with 352 healthy controls (HC), 202 typical AD (tAD), and 177 logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) patients from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) dataset. They were compared using clinician ratings of behavioral symptoms, informant- and clinician-filled questionnaires and patient-facing tests of behavior and social cognition. Results showed that PCA individuals exhibited many behavioral symptoms, the more frequently reported being anxiety, depression, apathy, and irritability. During cognitive testing, clinicians observed disorganized and reactive behaviors, but no insensitive behaviors. Informant reports indicated that PCA patients exhibited higher levels of inhibition and anxiety in response to stimuli associated with non-reward, novelty, and punishment. Social norms knowledge and empathy were overall preserved, although slight decreases in perspective-taking and socioemotional sensitivity were observed on informant-rated questionnaires. Except for more elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms in tAD, the three AD variants had similar profiles. Our findings provide insights into the social cognition and behavioral profiles of PCA, highlighting patterns of preservations and mild impairments, even in the early stages of the disease. These results contribute to a more complete understanding of non-visual symptoms in PCA and have implications for diagnostic and intervention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Linshan Wang
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Marianne Chapleau
- Memory & Aging Center, University of California in San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Raffaella Migliaccio
- FrontLab, INSERM U1127, Institut du cerveau, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
- Centre de Référence des Démences Rares ou Précoces, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Department of Neurology, Institute of Memory and Alzheimer's Disease, Centre of Excellence of Neurodegenerative Disease, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Carrier
- Douglas Research Centre, Montréal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, H2X 3P2, Canada
| | - Maxime Montembeault
- Douglas Research Centre, Montréal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada.
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Eldaief MC, Brickhouse M, Katsumi Y, Rosen H, Carvalho N, Touroutoglou A, Dickerson BC. Atrophy in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia spans multiple large-scale prefrontal and temporal networks. Brain 2023; 146:4476-4485. [PMID: 37201288 PMCID: PMC10629759 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification of a neurodegenerative disorder's distributed pattern of atrophy-or atrophy 'signature'-can lend insights into the cortical networks that degenerate in individuals with specific constellations of symptoms. In addition, this signature can be used as a biomarker to support early diagnoses and to potentially reveal pathological changes associated with said disorder. Here, we characterized the cortical atrophy signature of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). We used a data-driven approach to estimate cortical thickness using surface-based analyses in two independent, sporadic bvFTD samples (n = 30 and n = 71, total n = 101), using age- and gender-matched cognitively and behaviourally normal individuals. We found highly similar patterns of cortical atrophy across the two independent samples, supporting the reliability of our bvFTD signature. Next, we investigated whether our bvFTD signature targets specific large-scale cortical networks, as is the case for other neurodegenerative disorders. We specifically asked whether the bvFTD signature topographically overlaps with the salience network, as previous reports have suggested. We hypothesized that because phenotypic presentations of bvFTD are diverse, this would not be the case, and that the signature would cross canonical network boundaries. Consistent with our hypothesis, the bvFTD signature spanned rostral portions of multiple networks, including the default mode, limbic, frontoparietal control and salience networks. We then tested whether the signature comprised multiple anatomical subtypes, which themselves overlapped with specific networks. To explore this, we performed a hierarchical clustering analysis. This yielded three clusters, only one of which extensively overlapped with a canonical network (the limbic network). Taken together, these findings argue against the hypothesis that the salience network is preferentially affected in bvFTD, but rather suggest that-at least in patients who meet diagnostic criteria for the full-blown syndrome-neurodegeneration in bvFTD encompasses a distributed set of prefrontal, insular and anterior temporal nodes of multiple large-scale brain networks, in keeping with the phenotypic diversity of this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Eldaief
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Center for Brain Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Michael Brickhouse
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Yuta Katsumi
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Howard Rosen
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Nicole Carvalho
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Alexandra Touroutoglou
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Bradford C Dickerson
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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Barker MS, Dodge SG, Niehoff D, Denny S, Dacks PA, Dickinson S, Cosentino S, Wheaton DK. Living With Frontotemporal Degeneration: Diagnostic Journey, Symptom Experiences, and Disease Impact. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2023; 36:201-214. [PMID: 35943443 PMCID: PMC10114256 DOI: 10.1177/08919887221119976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is an umbrella term encompassing a range of rare neurodegenerative disorders that cause progressive declines in cognition, behavior, and personality. Hearing directly from individuals living with FTD and their care partners is critical in optimizing care, identifying meaningful clinical trial endpoints, and improving research recruitment and retention. The current paper presents a subset of data from the FTD Insights Survey, chronicling the diagnostic journey, symptoms, and the impact of FTD on distress, quality of life, and independence, in the mild to moderate stages of the disease. Survey respondents included 219 individuals diagnosed with FTD and 437 current care partners, representing a range of FTD diagnoses. Around half of survey respondents reported seeing three or more doctors before an FTD diagnosis was given, and a range of prior diagnoses were noted. Most frequently endorsed symptoms tended to be consistent with clinical characteristics of the specific diagnosis, though there was significant variability in symptoms reported within diagnostic categories as well as considerable overlap in symptoms between diagnostic categories. Cognitive and language symptoms of FTD were generally most distressing to the person diagnosed, and a loss of independence was endorsed as affecting quality of life. The distinct perspectives of diagnosed persons and care partners regarding disease impact differed notably for bvFTD/Pick's disease. Participating independently in a range of activities, within the home, outside the home, and with other people, were reported as challenging for people living with FTD, underscoring the degree to which the lives of these individuals are affected even at the mild and moderate stages of disease. Overall, by heeding the perspectives of those living with FTD, we can begin to design more meaningful research studies, provide better care, and develop therapies that improve quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan S. Barker
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shana G. Dodge
- The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, King of Prussia, PA, USA
| | - Debra Niehoff
- The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, King of Prussia, PA, USA
| | - Sharon Denny
- The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, King of Prussia, PA, USA
| | - Penny A. Dacks
- The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, King of Prussia, PA, USA
- FTD Disorders Registry, LLC, King of Prussia, PA, USA
| | - Susan Dickinson
- The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, King of Prussia, PA, USA
| | - Stephanie Cosentino
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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8
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Neural compensation in manifest neurodegeneration: systems neuroscience evidence from social cognition in frontotemporal dementia. J Neurol 2023; 270:538-547. [PMID: 36163388 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-022-11393-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has been argued that symptom onset in neurodegeneration reflects the overload of compensatory mechanisms. The present study aimed to investigate whether neural functional compensation can be observed in the manifest neurodegenerative disease stage, by focusing on a core deficit in frontotemporal dementia, i.e. social cognition, and by combining psychophysical assessment, structural MRI and functional MRI with multidimensional neural markers that allow quantification of neural computations. METHODS Nineteen patients with clinically manifest behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and 20 controls performed facial expression recognition tasks in the MRI-scanner and offline. Group differences in grey matter volume, neural response amplitude and neural patterns were assessed via a combination of voxel-wise whole-brain, searchlight, and ROI-analyses and these measures were correlated with psychophysical measures of emotion, valence and arousal ratings. RESULTS Significant group effects were observed only outside task-relevant regions, converging in the caudate nucleus. This area showed a diagnostic neural pattern as well as hyperactivation and stronger neural representation of facial expressions in the bvFTD sample. Furthermore, response amplitude was associated with behavioral arousal ratings. CONCLUSIONS The combined findings reveal converging support for compensatory processes in clinically manifest neurodegeneration, complementing accounts that clinical onset synchronizes with the breakdown of compensatory processes. Furthermore, active compensation may proceed along nodes in intrinsically connected networks, rather than along the more task-specific networks. The findings underscore the potential of distributed multidimensional functional neural characteristics that may provide a novel class of biomarkers with both diagnostic and therapeutic implications, including biomarkers for clinical trials.
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9
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Van den Stock J, Bertoux M, Diehl-Schmid J, Piguet O, Rankin KP, Pasquier F, Ducharme S, Pijnenburg Y, Kumfor F. Current Potential for Clinical Optimization of Social Cognition Assessment for Frontotemporal Dementia and Primary Psychiatric Disorders. Neuropsychol Rev 2022; 33:544-550. [PMID: 35962919 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-022-09554-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Dodich and colleagues recently reviewed the evidence supporting clinical use of social cognition assessment in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (Dodich et al., 2021). Here, we comment on their methods and present an initiative to address some of the limitations that emerged from their study. In particular, we established the social cognition workgroup within the Neuropsychiatric International Consortium Frontotemporal dementia (scNIC-FTD), aiming to validate social cognition assessment for diagnostic purposes and tracking of change across clinical situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Stock
- Leuven Brain Institute, Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Geriatric Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Centre KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Maxime Bertoux
- Lille Neurosciences & Cognition Institute, Labex DISTALZ, Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Lille, France
| | - Janine Diehl-Schmid
- School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Olivier Piguet
- Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Katherine P Rankin
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Florence Pasquier
- Lille Neurosciences & Cognition Institute, Labex DISTALZ, Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Lille, France
| | - Simon Ducharme
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Yolande Pijnenburg
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fiona Kumfor
- Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Balgova E, Diveica V, Walbrin J, Binney RJ. The role of the ventrolateral anterior temporal lobes in social cognition. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4589-4608. [PMID: 35716023 PMCID: PMC9491293 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A key challenge for neurobiological models of social cognition is to elucidate whether brain regions are specialised for that domain. In recent years, discussion surrounding the role of anterior temporal regions epitomises such debates; some argue the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is part of a domain‐specific network for social processing, while others claim it comprises a domain‐general hub for semantic representation. In the present study, we used ATL‐optimised fMRI to map the contribution of different ATL structures to a variety of paradigms frequently used to probe a crucial social ability, namely ‘theory of mind’ (ToM). Using multiple tasks enables a clearer attribution of activation to ToM as opposed to idiosyncratic features of stimuli. Further, we directly explored whether these same structures are also activated by a non‐social task probing semantic representations. We revealed that common to all of the tasks was activation of a key ventrolateral ATL region that is often invisible to standard fMRI. This constitutes novel evidence in support of the view that the ventrolateral ATL contributes to social cognition via a domain‐general role in semantic processing and against claims of a specialised social function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Balgova
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
| | - Veronica Diveica
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
| | - Jon Walbrin
- Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Richard J Binney
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
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11
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This article discusses the application of neuropsychological evaluation to the workup of individuals with age-related cognitive impairment and suspected dementia. Referral questions, principles of evaluation, and common instruments to detect abnormalities in cognition and behavior in this population are reviewed. The integration of neuropsychological test findings with other clinical and biomarker information enhances early detection, differential diagnosis, and care planning. RECENT FINDINGS Life expectancy is increasing in the United States, and, accordingly, the prevalence and incidence of dementia associated with age-related neurodegenerative brain disease are rising. Age is the greatest risk factor for the dementia associated with Alzheimer disease, the most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia in people over 65 years of age; other etiologies, such as the class of frontotemporal lobar degenerations, are increasingly recognized in individuals both younger and older than 65 years of age. The clinical dementia diagnosis, unfortunately, is imperfectly related to disease etiology; however, probabilistic relationships can aid in diagnosis. Further, mounting evidence from postmortem brain autopsies points to multiple etiologies. The case examples in this article illustrate how the neuropsychological evaluation increases diagnostic accuracy and, most important, identifies salient cognitive and behavioral symptoms to target for nonpharmacologic intervention and caregiver education and support. Sharing the diagnosis with affected individuals is also discussed with reference to prognosis and severity of illness. SUMMARY The clinical neuropsychological examination facilitates early detection of dementia, characterizes the level of severity, defines salient clinical features, aids in differential diagnosis, and points to a pathway for care planning and disease education.
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12
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This article reviews many of the complex facets of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). A particular focus is on improving diagnostic accuracy to reduce the arduous diagnostic odyssey that so many patients and families endure. Strategies to promote diagnostic accuracy and approach the management of problematic symptoms are also discussed. RECENT FINDINGS Although the International Consensus Criteria for bvFTD were published more than a decade ago and clinicopathologic studies have confirmed their utility, diagnostic confusion continues. This article presents updated data along with illustrative cases to emphasize the clinical pearls that are most useful for clinicians. Although accurate prediction of the underlying proteinopathy remains a challenge, the ability to differentiate bvFTD from atypical Alzheimer disease, psychiatric disorders, and other mimickers has improved. Knowledge about the genetic underpinnings in a significant minority of individuals with familial FTLD is enabling early and accurate diagnosis. Therapeutic optimism has also increased, particularly in familial FTLD, with a few clinical trials in progress and several more planned, some of which are designed to slow progression or delay the onset of symptoms, or both. SUMMARY The diagnosis and management of bvFTD is challenging for clinicians and particularly for patients and their families. Although much progress has been gained over recent years, several key research questions persist. Treatments that significantly improve symptoms or alter the course of FTLD remain elusive, but optimism is increasing as pathobiology is better understood and novel therapies are being developed.
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13
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Van den Stock J. Social cognition assessment for mild neurocognitive disorders. Alzheimers Dement 2021; 18:1439-1440. [PMID: 34854534 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Stock
- KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute, Neuropsychiatry & Geriatric Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Centre KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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14
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Pavlova MA, Sokolov AA. Reading Covered Faces. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:249-265. [PMID: 34521105 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Covering faces with masks, due to mandatory pandemic safety regulations, we can no longer rely on the habitual daily-life information. This may be thought-provoking for healthy people, but particularly challenging for individuals with neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Au fait research on reading covered faces reveals that: 1) wearing masks hampers facial affect recognition, though it leaves reliable inferring basic emotional expressions; 2) by buffering facial affect, masks lead to narrowing of emotional spectrum and dampen veridical evaluation of counterparts; 3) masks may affect perceived face attractiveness; 4) covered (either by masks or other veils) faces have a certain signal function introducing perceptual biases and prejudices; 5) reading covered faces is gender- and age-specific, being more challenging for males and more variable even in healthy aging; 6) the hampering effects of masks on social cognition occur over the globe; and 7) reading covered faces is likely to be supported by the large-scale assemblies of the neural circuits far beyond the social brain. Challenges and limitations of ongoing research and parallels to the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test are assessed. Clarification of how masks affect face reading in the real world, where we deal with dynamic faces and have entrée to additional valuable social signals such as body language, as well as the specificity of neural networks underlying reading covered faces calls for further tailored research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Arseny A Sokolov
- Service de neuropsychologie et de neuroréhabilitation, Département des neurosciences cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne 1011, Switzerland
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15
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Magrath Guimet N, Miller BL, Allegri RF, Rankin KP. What Do We Mean by Behavioral Disinhibition in Frontotemporal Dementia? Front Neurol 2021; 12:707799. [PMID: 34305805 PMCID: PMC8292604 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.707799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, unlike other forms of dementia, is primarily characterized by changes in behavior, personality, and language, with disinhibition being one of its core symptoms. However, because there is no single definition that captures the totality of behavioral symptoms observed in these patients, disinhibition is an umbrella term used to encompass socially disruptive or morally unacceptable behaviors that may arise from distinct neural etiologies. This paper aims to review the current knowledge about behavioral disinhibition in this syndrome, considering the cultural factors related to our perception of behavior, the importance of phenomenological interpretation, neuroanatomy, the brain networks involved and, finally, a new neuroscientific theory that offers a conceptual framework for understanding the diverse components of behavioral disinhibition in this neurodegenerative disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nahuel Magrath Guimet
- Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Cognitive Neurology, Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology, Instituto Neurológico Fleni, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Bruce L Miller
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Ricardo F Allegri
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology, Instituto Neurológico Fleni, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Department of Neurosciences, Universidad de la Costa (CUC), Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Katherine P Rankin
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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