Apathy in Frontotemporal Degeneration: Neuroanatomical Evidence of Impaired Goal-directed Behavior.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Apathy, the major manifestation of impaired goal-directed behavior (GDB), is the most common neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with behavioral variant frontotemporal degeneration (bvFTD). The behavioral and biological mechanisms of apathy, however, are not well understood. We hypothesized that GDB has multiple components-including at least initiation, planning and motivation-and that GDB is supported by a network of multiple frontal brain regions. In this study, we examined this hypothesis by evaluating the selective breakdown of GDB in bvFTD, and relating these deficits to gray matter (GM) atrophy and white matter (WM) integrity.

Methods

Eighteen apathetic bvFTD participants and 17 healthy controls completed the Philadelphia Apathy Computerized Test (PACT). Th

SUBMITTER: Massimo L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4639601 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature