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Oops! Resolving social dilemmas in frontotemporal dementia.
Paul J Eslinger1, Peachie Moore, Vanessa Troiani
1Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, The Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA. peslinger@psu.edu
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
|October 3, 2006
Summary
Patients with social and executive disorder (SOC/EXEC) struggle with social dilemmas due to impaired executive function and social knowledge. These deficits correlate with right hemisphere brain atrophy, impacting social cognition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Social cognition relies on social knowledge and executive resources for interpersonal decisions.
- Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can cause social and executive disorders (SOC/EXEC).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the social cognition model in patients with SOC/EXEC by examining their resolution of social dilemmas.
- To identify neural correlates of social dilemma resolution deficits.
Main Methods:
- Compared patients with SOC/EXEC (n=12) to those with progressive aphasia (APH, n=14).
- Assessed social dilemma resolution, theory of mind, empathy, and cognitive flexibility.
- Used voxel-based morphometry of structural MRI to correlate social dilemma judgments with cortical volume.
Main Results:
- Patients with SOC/EXEC showed impairments in social dilemma judgments, theory of mind, empathy, and cognitive flexibility.
- Cognitive flexibility was the strongest predictor of social dilemma judgment.
- Impairments correlated with right hemisphere cortical atrophy in specific regions.
Conclusions:
- Deficits in resolving social dilemmas in SOC/EXEC are linked to reduced executive resources and social knowledge.
- These deficits arise from damage to a right frontal-temporal neural network vital for social cognition.
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