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Anosognosia and Memory Encoding in Huntington Disease
Ciaran Michael Considine1, Shelby Hughes, Jessie Sellers Gibson
1Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
Summary
Anosognosia in Huntington disease (HD) correlates with memory deficits and fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms, but not motor or genetic markers. The Anosognosia Scale (AS) shows promise for assessing unawareness in HD patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Genetics
Background:
- Anosognosia, or unawareness of neurobehavioral symptoms, is a challenge in Huntington disease (HD).
- The Anosognosia Scale (AS) offers a brief method for measuring anosognosia, with initial promising results in small HD cohorts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the psychometric properties and correlates of the AS in a larger Huntington disease sample.
- To investigate associations between AS scores and genetic, motor, and neuropsychological factors in individuals with HD.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of AS ratings from 74 early-stage Huntington disease gene carriers.
- Compilation of concurrent clinical neurologic, neuropsychometric, and genetic data.
- Characterization of anosognosia severity using AS ratings within the HD sample.
Main Results:
- AS ratings did not correlate with demographic variables, genetic markers, or motor severity.
- Higher AS scores were linked to poorer recognition-discrimination memory (r = 0.38) and fewer self-reported depressive symptoms (r = -0.38) and hypersomnia (r = -0.44).
- No significant correlation was found between AS scores and executive functioning or collateral-reported frontal-behavioral symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Anosognosia, as measured by the AS, is associated with specific cognitive deficits (recognition-discrimination) and reduced self-reported neuropsychiatric symptoms in early HD.
- The AS appears independent of genetic and motor markers of HD severity.
- Findings suggest the AS is a valuable tool for understanding anosognosia in HD, particularly its relationship with certain cognitive and self-reported symptoms.
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