A predictive coding framework of allostatic-interoceptive overload in frontotemporal dementia.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Allostatic-interoceptive explanations using predictive coding models link body regulation to environmental anticipation.
• Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) presents complex cognitive and behavioral challenges.
• Understanding bvFTD requires integrating internal bodily states with external environmental demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the allostatic-interoceptive framework for understanding behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).
• To explain divergent bvFTD deficits, including cognitive impairments, behavioral maladjustment, and neurophysiological anomalies, through this framework.
• To propose theory-driven predictions for bvFTD phenomenology and pathophysiology.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of predictive coding models applied to allostasis and interoception.
• Analysis of existing data on bvFTD, focusing on cognitive, behavioral, and neurophysiological aspects.
• Development of theoretical predictions linking allostatic interoception levels to bvFTD characteristics.

Main Results:

• The allostatic-interoceptive framework can explain diverse bvFTD deficits, such as cognitive impairments and autonomic dysregulation.
• The framework accounts for brain atrophy and fronto-insular-temporal network atypicality observed in bvFTD.
• Aberrant interoceptive electrophysiological activity and autonomic disbalance are consistent with allostatic overload in bvFTD.

Conclusions:

• The allostatic-interoceptive predictive coding framework offers a unified explanation for bvFTD's complex presentation.
• This approach can elucidate the interplay between internal milieu regulation and external behavioral adaptation in bvFTD.
• The framework suggests novel avenues for targeted interventions and strengthens clinical models for neurological and psychiatric disorders.