Commentary: The forensic psychiatry of frontotemporal dementia

The article by Dr. Mendez is a timely contribution to the literature on the study of antisocial behavior associated with frontotemporal dementia. My commentary is focused on the need to take into account the neuroscientific advances involving frontotemporal dementia and the way in which such information may be conceptually helpful in furthering our understanding of forensic psychiatric cases of individuals with frontotemporal dementia. I place particular emphasis on the need to present basic psychiatric-legal aspects of such cases before we attempt to integrate the relevant neuropsychiatric information. I use the cases presented by Dr. Mendez to highlight this important need in forensic neuropsychiatry. With this commentary, I support the view that both theoretical and practical aspects of neuropsychiatric and forensic psychiatric knowledge must be carefully integrated to achieve effective forensic neuropsychiatric assessments.