Theory of mind impairment in patients with behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia (bv-FTD) increases caregiver burden

Theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer the intention, beliefs and emotional states of others, is frequently impaired in behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia patients (bv-FTDp); however, its impact on caregiver burden is unexplored. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Age and ageing 2015-09, Vol.44 (5), p.891-895
Main Authors: Brioschi Guevara, Andrea, Knutson, Kristine M, Wassermann, Eric M, Pulaski, Sarah, Grafman, Jordan, Krueger, Frank
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atrophy
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Case-Control Studies
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cost of Illness
Dementia
Emotions
Empathy
Female
Frontal Lobe - pathology
Frontal Lobe - physiopathology
Frontotemporal dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia - diagnosis
Frontotemporal Dementia - physiopathology
Frontotemporal Dementia - psychology
Frontotemporal Dementia - therapy
Health aspects
Humans
Intelligence
Interviews as Topic
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Neurological disorders
Neuropsychological Tests
Older people
Practice
Risk factors
Short Reports
Temporal Lobe - pathology
Temporal Lobe - physiopathology
Theory of Mind
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Summary:Theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer the intention, beliefs and emotional states of others, is frequently impaired in behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia patients (bv-FTDp); however, its impact on caregiver burden is unexplored. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. bv-FTDp (n = 28), a subgroup of their caregivers (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 32). we applied a faux-pas (FP) task as a ToM measure in bv-FTDp and healthy controls and the Zarit Burden Interview as a measure of burden in patients' caregivers. Patients underwent structural MRI; we used voxel-based morphometry to examine relationships between regional atrophy and ToM impairment and caregiver burden. FP task performance was impaired in bv-FTDp and negatively associated with caregiver burden. Atrophy was found in areas involved in ToM. Caregiver burden increased with greater atrophy in left lateral premotor cortex, a region associated in animal models with the presence of mirror neurons, possibly involved in empathy. ToM impairment in bv-FTDp is associated with increased caregiver burden.
ISSN:0002-0729
1468-2834
DOI:10.1093/ageing/afv059