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Soncu Buyukiscan E, Yildirim E, Demirtas-Tatlidede A, Bilgic B, Gurvit H. An Investigation of Affective Personality Traits in Alzheimer's Disease: SEEKING as a Possible Predictor for Early-Stage Alzheimer's Dementia. Exp Aging Res 2023:1-14. [PMID: 37695698 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2023.2256629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of the current study was to investigate affective personality traits in Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative condition mainly characterized by episodic memory impairment. METHOD The sample included 69 participants from 3 diagnostic categories. Twenty-five participants were diagnosed with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), 26 participants were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment of the amnestic type (aMCI), and the remaining 18 participants were diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's dementia (ADD). Diagnostic labels were given as a result of detailed neurological, neuropsychological, and neuroradiological assessment. Affective personality traits were assessed via Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS). RESULTS The only significant intergroup difference was obtained for the SEEKING subscale of ANPS. Here, ADD group scored significantly lower compared to the SCI group. The results of logistic regression analysis also indicated that SEEKING score successfully predicted early-stage ADD diagnosis. CONCLUSION The results suggest that a specific personality constellation characterized by reduced investment in the outside world might be associated with Alzheimer's disease, either as a risk factor or a byproduct of the neurodegenerative process initiated by AD pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elif Yildirim
- Department of Psychology, Isik University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Basar Bilgic
- Behavioral Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hakan Gurvit
- Behavioral Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Genetic Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Affects the Neural Mechanisms of Pattern Separation in Hippocampal Subfields. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4201-4212.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Personality factors and cerebral glucose metabolism in community-dwelling older adults. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:1511-1522. [PMID: 32342225 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02071-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Personality factors have been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia, but they have not been examined against markers of regional brain glucose metabolism (a primary measure of brain functioning) in older adults without clinically diagnosed cognitive impairment. The relationship between personality factors derived from the five-factor model and cerebral glucose metabolism determined using positron emission tomography (PET) with [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG-PET) was examined in a cohort of 237 non-demented, community-dwelling older adults aged 60-89 years (M ± SD = 73.76 ± 6.73). Higher neuroticism and lower scores on extraversion and conscientiousness were significantly associated with decreased glucose metabolism in brain regions typically affected by AD neuropathological processes, including the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. Furthermore, while there were significant differences between apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele carriers and non-carriers on 18F-FDG-PET results in the neocortex and other brain regions (p < 0.05), there was no significant difference between carriers and non-carriers on personality factors and no significant interactions were found between APOE ε4 carriage and personality factors on brain glucose metabolism. In conclusion, we found significant relationships between personality factors and glucose metabolism in neural regions more susceptible to AD neuropathology in older adults without clinically significant cognitive impairment. These findings support the need for longitudinal research into the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between personality and dementia risk, including measurement of change in other AD biomarkers (amyloid and tau imaging) and how they correspond to change in personality factors. Future research is also warranted to determine whether timely psychological interventions aimed at personality facets (specific aspects or characteristics of personality factors) can affect imaging or other biomarkers of AD resulting in delay or ideally preventing the onset of the cognitive impairment.
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Segerstrom SC. Personality and Incident Alzheimer's Disease: Theory, Evidence, and Future Directions. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2020; 75:513-521. [PMID: 29846724 PMCID: PMC7768711 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gby063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality, especially the dimensions of neuroticism and conscientiousness, has prospectively predicted the risk of incident Alzheimer's disease (AD). Such a relationship could be explained by personality and AD risk having a common cause such as a gene; by personality creating a predisposition for AD through health behavior or inflammation; by personality exerting a pathoplastic effect on the cognitive consequences of neuropathology; or by AD and personality change existing on a disease spectrum that begins up to decades before diagnosis. Using the 5-dimensional taxonomy of personality, the present review describes how these models might arise, the evidence for each, and how they might be distinguished from one another empirically. At present, the evidence is sparse but tends to suggest predisposition and/or pathoplastic relationships. Future studies using noninvasive assessment of neuropathology are needed to distinguish these 2 possibilities.
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Stewart CC, Boyle PA, James BD, Yu L, Han SD, Bennett DA. Associations of APOE ε4 With Health and Financial Literacy Among Community-Based Older Adults Without Dementia. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2018; 73:778-786. [PMID: 27174891 PMCID: PMC6283314 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbw054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Older adults often exhibit low health and financial literacy, but the reasons why remain unclear. One possibility is that those older adults at high risk for developing dementia demonstrate low literacy even in the absence of marked cognitive impairment. We therefore examined associations of health and financial literacy with the APOE ε4 allele, the chief genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, among older adults without dementia. Method Participants were 487 older adults without dementia enrolled in the Rush Memory and Aging Project (mean age = 83, mean years of education = 15, 77% female, 91% non-Hispanic White). Participants underwent APOE genotyping and assessments of cognition, health literacy, and financial literacy. Health and financial literacy scores were also averaged into a total literacy score. Results ε4 was associated with lower total and health literacy, with a trend toward an association with lower financial literacy, after adjustment for age, sex, and education. Associations of ε4 with lower total and health literacy persisted after further adjustment for global cognitive function and 5 specific cognitive domains. Discussion ε4 affects literacy even in the absence of clinical dementia and does so relatively independent of performance on traditional cognitive tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher C Stewart
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Patricia A Boyle
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Bryan D James
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Lei Yu
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
| | - S Duke Han
- Departments of Family Medicine, Neurology, and Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
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Kunz L, Reuter M, Axmacher N, Montag C. Conscientiousness is Negatively Associated with Grey Matter Volume in Young APOE ɛ4-Carriers. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 56:1135-1144. [PMID: 28106551 DOI: 10.3233/jad-160854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The etiology of late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) depends on multiple factors, among which the APOE ɛ4 allele is the most adverse genetic determinant and conscientiousness represents an influential personality trait. A potential association of both factors with brain structure in young adulthood may constitute a constellation that sets the course toward or against the subtle disease progression of LOAD that starts decades before clinical manifestation. Hence, in the present study, we examined the modulating effects of APOE ɛ4 on the relation between personality dimensions, including conscientiousness, and total grey matter volume (GMV) in young healthy adults using an a priori genotyping design. 105 participants completed an inventory assessing the Five Factor Model of Personality (NEO-FFI) and a structural MRI scan. Total GMV was estimated using both Freesurfer as well as VBM8. Across all participants, total GMV was positively associated with extraversion and negatively related to age. In APOE ɛ4-carriers- but not in APOE ɛ4-non-carriers- conscientiousness was negatively associated with total GMV. In line with the hypothesis of antagonistic pleiotropy of the APOE ɛ4 allele, this result suggests that young APOE ɛ4-carriers with increased total GMV may particularly benefit from cognitive advantages and thus have a lower need to engage in conscientious behavior. In this subset of young APOE ɛ4-carriers, the reduction in conscientiousness could then bring along adverse health behavior in the long run, potentiating the risk for LOAD. Hence, young APOE ɛ4-carriers with increased total GMV may be at a particularly high risk for LOAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Kunz
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.,Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Reuter
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.,Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christian Montag
- Institute for Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.,Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation/Center for Information in BioMedicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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Devenney KE, Sanders ML, Lawlor B, Olde Rikkert MGM, Schneider S. The effects of an extensive exercise programme on the progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMC Geriatr 2017; 17:75. [PMID: 28330458 PMCID: PMC5361785 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-017-0457-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Exercise interventions to prevent dementia and delay cognitive decline have gained considerable attention in recent years. Human and animal studies have demonstrated that regular physical activity targets brain function by increasing cognitive reserve. There is also evidence of structural changes caused by exercise in preventing or delaying the genesis of neurodegeneration. Although initial studies indicate enhanced cognitive performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) following an exercise intervention, little is known about the effect of an extensive, controlled and regular exercise regimen on the neuropathology of patients with MCI. This study aims to determine the effects of an extensive exercise programme on the progression of MCI. Methods/design This randomised controlled clinical intervention study will take place across three European sites. Seventy-five previously sedentary patients with a clinical diagnosis of MCI will be recruited at each site. Participants will be randomised to one of three groups. One group will receive a standardised 1-year extensive aerobic exercise intervention (3 units of 45 min/week). The second group will complete stretching and toning (non-aerobic) exercise (3 units of 45 min/week) and the third group will act as the control group. Change in all outcomes will be measured at baseline (T0), after six months (T1) and after 12 months (T2). The primary outcome, cognitive performance, will be determined by a neuropsychological test battery (CogState battery, Trail Making Test and Verbal fluency). Secondary outcomes include Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), cardiovascular fitness, physical activity, structural changes of the brain, quality of life measures and measures of frailty. Furthermore, outcome variables will be related to genetic variations on genes related to neurogenesis and epigenetic changes in these genes caused by the exercise intervention programme. Discussion The results will add new insights into the prevailing notion that exercise may slow the rate of cognitive decline in MCI. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02913053
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate E Devenney
- Discipline of Physiotherapy, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Marit L Sanders
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboud Alzheimer Centre, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Brian Lawlor
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Marcel G M Olde Rikkert
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboud Alzheimer Centre, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan Schneider
- Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Faculty for Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia
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de Bem CMBE, Pezzi JC, Borba EM, Chaves MLF, de Andrade FM, Fiegenbaum M, Camozzato A. The synergistic risk effect of apolipoprotein ε4 and DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase 3 beta (DNMT3B) haplotype for Alzheimer's disease. Mol Biol Rep 2016; 43:653-8. [PMID: 27188425 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-016-3999-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex and multifactorial disease with the contribution of several genes and polymorphisms to its development. Among these genes, the APOEε4 is the best known risk factor for AD. Methylation is associated with APOE expression and AD development. Recently, we found an association of the TGG haplotype in the DNMT3B gene, one of the catalyst enzyme for methylation, with AD. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate whether APOEε4 and TGG haplotype have an synergistic effect on AD. The sample was composed of 212 Caucasian individuals (108 healthy controls and 104 with AD by NINCDS-ADRDA and DSM-IV-TR criteria) from southern Brazil. The genetic analyses were performed by real time PCR for TaqMan(®) assay. Multivariate logistic regression was performed categorizing groups according to presence of APOEε4 and/or TGG haplotype as an independent variable for outcome AD. The presence of TGG haplotype plus the allele APOEε4 were strongly associated with AD [OR 11.13; 95 % CI (4.25-29.16); P < 0.001]. This association had a higher risk than each risk factor alone. We found a strong association of the interaction of DNMT3B gene with the APOEε4 in this sample of AD patients. The presence of TGG haplotype and APOEε4 significantly increased the risk of developing the disease, showing an synergistic effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cíntia Monique Boschmann Ens de Bem
- Post Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Rua: Taquara 564/306 Bairro Petrópolis, Porto Alegre, RS, 90460210, Brazil
| | - Julio Carlos Pezzi
- Post Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Rua: Taquara 564/306 Bairro Petrópolis, Porto Alegre, RS, 90460210, Brazil
| | - Ericksen Mielle Borba
- Neurology Service, Dementia Clinic, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | | | | | - Marilu Fiegenbaum
- Post Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Rua: Taquara 564/306 Bairro Petrópolis, Porto Alegre, RS, 90460210, Brazil
| | - Analuiza Camozzato
- Post Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Rua: Taquara 564/306 Bairro Petrópolis, Porto Alegre, RS, 90460210, Brazil.
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Personality and genes: remarks from a biological perspective. CURRENT ISSUES IN PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.5114/cipp.2014.46229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Although there is no doubt that genes’ functions influence human personality, years of studies provided no clear picture on regulation of particular traits by specific genes. In this article, an overview of the complexity of the system of genetic control of personality is presented, and the level of complications of biological processes operating in this system is underlined. The methodology of studies devoted to determine effects of genes on personality traits is discussed, and limitations of various methods in such studies are indicated. Finally, suggestions for further research are listed and commented on. It is likely that to increase the level of our understanding of genetic mechanisms that modulate human personality, researchers conducting further studies will have to focus on using large sample sizes, performing independent replications, considering experiments on animal models, integrating cross-cultural data and epigenetic measures, and performing interdisciplinary experiments which combine methods of various disciplines, such as biology and psychology.
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