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Published on: July 27, 2018
Quantifying Apathy in Late-Life Depression: Unraveling Neurobehavioral Links Through Daily Activity Patterns and
Jean-Charles Roy1, Renaud Hédouin2, Thomas Desmidt3
1Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Régnier, Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte, Rennes, France; Centre d'Investigation Clinique 1414, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Rennes, France; Université de Rennes, Inria, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IRISA, INSERM, Empenn U1228 ERL, Rennes, France.
Motor activity patterns, including diurnal activity and chronotype, are linked to apathy in late-life depression. These patterns correlate with altered brain connectivity in networks crucial for goal-directed behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Apathy in late-life depression is linked to poor prognosis, including dementia.
- Actimetry offers objective, ecological assessment of apathy via daily motor activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between motor activity patterns, apathy, and brain connectivity in late-life depression.
- To explore if actimetry-derived measures can serve as predictors of apathy and related neural changes.
Main Methods:
- Functional MRI and diffusion MRI were used on 38 participants with late-life depression.
- Apathy was assessed using diagnostic criteria, Apathy Evaluation Scale, and Apathy Motivation Index.
- Motor activity patterns (functional principal components) were derived from 72-hour actimetry recordings.
Main Results:
- Mean diurnal activity and early chronotype were significantly associated with apathy scores.
- Diurnal activity correlated with connectivity in default mode, cingulo-opercular, and frontoparietal networks.
- Chronotype showed a heterogeneous connectivity pattern within the same networks; no microstructural associations were found.
Conclusions:
- Mean diurnal activity and chronotype may serve as indirect ambulatory markers for apathy in late-life depression.
- These activity patterns are associated with altered functional connectivity in goal-directed behavior networks.
