Impaired Empathy Versus General Hypoemotionality in Frontotemporal Dementia

Mario F Mendez1, Andrew R Carr1, Elvira E Jimenez1

  • 1The Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, and Medicine, Statistic Core, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles (Mendez, Jimenez); the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (Mendez, Carr, Jimenez); the Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (Riedel, Thompson); and the Departments of Engineering, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Radiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (Thompson).

Summary

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients show impaired empathic behavior and reduced physiological responses to emotional stimuli, suggesting a specific deficit in emotional empathy linked to the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus.

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