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Cambridge study finds apathy, not depression, is an early sign of dementia :
A new study, led by neuroscientists from the University of Cambridge, has identified apathy as an important early sign of dementia. The research finds apathy is distinct from depression, and offers a more accurate longitudinal association with the onset of dementia.
[...] To study this particular distinction between apathy and depression, and their relationship with dementia, the researchers looked at two independent cohorts with cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), totaling more than 450 subjects. SVD is a common age-related condition and it's the leading cause of vascular dementia, so following SVD patients for several years before dementia develops offers a good insight into the earliest pre-clinical signs of cognitive decline.
Affirming the hypothesis that apathy is an early sign of cognitive decline, the researchers reference recent MRI studies finding SVD damages specific white matter networks relating to motivation and healthy cognitive functions. This suggests as SVD progresses, an early stage of pre-dementia neurodegeneration can manifest in apathetic behavior.
"This implies that apathy is not a risk factor for dementia per se, but rather an early symptom of white matter network damage," the researchers write in the study. "Indeed, recent theoretical work proposed that certain symptoms of apathy are synonymous with defined cognitive deficits. If this is the case, then apathy may manifest early as a reduction in attention towards reward stimuli, then later, as an inability to learn or remember rewarding behaviours."
Journal Reference:
Jonathan Tay, Robin G Morris, Anil M Tuladhar, et al. Apathy, but not depression, predicts all-cause dementia in cerebral small vessel disease [open], Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-323092)
If you really don't care about this study, you might be in trouble...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @09:50AM (3 children)
apathy
/ˈapəθi/
noun
noun: apathy
lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.
vs.
dejected and despondent.
despondent
/dɪˈspɒnd(ə)nt/
adjective
adjective: despondent
in low spirits from loss of hope or courage.
Once you accept your dejected attitude and the way the world works, you become somewhat apathetic to the events in it. But then that could also be the advice that was given me - if you can't control it, don't worry about it.
Furthermore, lots of people grew up in apathetic environments where they were actively rewarded not be be curious or inquisitive. I guess researchers would have to be more specific.
Oh wait they did,
reward stimuli, reward behaviour. So not exactly apathy in general but lack of motivation to acquire behaviour that triggers dopamine rewards. Like staring out a window but not wanting to go out and take care of the garden anymore.
Just wanted to point this out to the Fahrenheit 451 crowd that only reads summaries of summaries ;)
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @10:23AM
meh
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @10:25AM
Waiting for the Reader's Digest condensed book of condensed summaries of summaries to come out. The one where they condense to the point of doing away with vowels and things. :)
Garden - the weeds keep winning. Year 15 of weekly battles lost on that front. I have considered DDT, Agent Orange, Napalm or a Flame Thrower - but the local authorities have a 'problem' with all these solutions that might actually work....
(Score: 2) by driverless on Thursday July 16 2020, @04:31AM
So teenagers are all showing signs of pre-dementia then?