Apathy and Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis

描述(改编自申请者的描述)：而研究人员有 寻找认知缺陷和抑郁症之间的关系 两者在多发性硬化症(MS)中都很常见，许多研究已经 找不到关联。这一失败可能源于多方面的 抑郁症的本质。抑郁的测量利用一系列症状(例如， 烦躁不安/抑郁情绪、躯体主诉)，其中一些可能更相关 在认知方面比其他人在神经性疾病，如MS，而冷漠 历史上一直与抑郁症联系在一起，最近的证据表明 这种冷漠代表了一种重要而独特的神经精神现象 就凭它自己的力量。研究人员最近发现，冷漠在 预测各种神经紊乱中的认知功能障碍(例如， 帕金森氏症、进行性核上性麻痹)。相比之下，没有任何联系 发现在认知障碍和烦躁不安的情绪之间，这是 抑郁症。而冷漠和认知障碍之间的关系 已经在六个神经科人群中被确认，但还没有 在冷漠女士身上进行了充分的检查与神经解剖学有关 对经常受MS疾病过程影响的区域的损害(例如， 前额叶皮质)。此外，冷漠与神经心理学有关。 多发性硬化症中常见的缺陷(例如，工作记忆、执行功能)。 拟议中的研究将证明，当与其他人分开时，冷漠是如何 传统上与抑郁症相关的因素，可以作为 多发性硬化症患者的认知功能障碍将由80例多发性硬化症组成 病人。冷漠将用冷漠评定量表和 神经精神病学问卷中的冷漠分量表。受试者将完成一项 一组认知任务集中在执行功能和工作上 记忆。据推测，冷漠将与 在执行功能和工作记忆测试中的表现，以及 冷漠将大大增加对这种差异的解释 超出这一范围的表现可由其他神经精神病学变量解释 测量抑郁、疲劳、疼痛和睡眠障碍。经验支持 因为最初的假设将为进一步的康复奠定基础 旨在改善人的冷漠和认知功能的研究 和梅根女士在一起。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Description): While researchers have searched for a relationship between the cognitive deficits and depression that are both common in multiple sclerosis (MS), numerous investigations have failed to find an association. This failure may stem from the multifaceted nature of depression. Measures of depression tap a spectrum of symptoms (e.g., dysphoric/depressed mood, somatic complaints), and some may be more relevant to cognition than others in neurological disorders such as MS. While apathy has been historically associated with depression, recent evidence indicates that apathy represents an important and distinct neuropsychiatric phenomenon in its own right. Researchers recently found that apathy played a key role in predicting cognitive dysfunction in a variety of neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy). In contrast, no link was found between cognitive impairment and dysphoric mood, a core feature of depression. While a relationship between apathy and cognitive impairment has been identified in over half a dozen neurological populations, it has not been adequately examined in MS. Apathy has been associated with neuroanatomical damage to regions that are often affected by the MS disease process (e.g., prefrontal cortex). In addition, apathy has been linked to neuropsychological deficits commonly found in MS (e.g., in working memory, executive functions). The proposed study will demonstrate how apathy, when separated from other factors traditionally associated with depression, can serve as a key marker of cognitive dysfunction in persons with MS. Subjects will consist of 80 MS patients. Apathy will be measured with the Apathy Evaluation Scale and the Apathy subscale of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Subjects will complete a battery of cognitive tasks focussed on executive functioning and working memory. It is hypothesized that apathy will correlate negatively with performance on tests of executive functioning and working memory, and that apathy will significantly add to the explanation of variance in such performance beyond that accounted for by other neuropsychiatric variables measuring depression, fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbance. Empirical support for the initial hypotheses will lay the foundation for further rehabilitative research designed to improve both apathy and cognitive functioning in persons with MS.