YNICL Journal 2017 Journal Article
The neural correlates and clinical characteristics of psychosis in the frontotemporal dementia continuum and the C9orf72 expansion
- Emma M Devenney
- Ramon Landin-Romero
- Muireann Irish
- Michael Hornberger
- Eneida Mioshi
- Glenda M. Halliday
- Matthew C. Kiernan
- John R. Hodges
OBJECTIVE: gene expansion. METHODS: Fifty-six patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (20 with concomitant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and 23 healthy controls underwent neuropsychological assessments, detailed clinical interview for assessment of psychosis symptoms, brain MRI and genetic testing. Carers underwent a clinical interview based upon the neuropsychiatric inventory. Patients were assessed at ForeFront, the Frontotemporal Dementia Research Group at Neuroscience Research Australia or at the Brain and Mind Centre, between January 2008 and December 2013. An index of psychosis was calculated, taking into account the degree and severity of psychosis in each case. Voxel-based morphometry analyses were used to explore relationships between the psychosis index and grey matter changes. RESULTS: expansion carriers correlated with atrophy in a distributed cortical and subcortical network that included discrete regions of the frontal, temporal and occipital cortices, as well as the thalamus, striatum and cerebellum. CONCLUSIONS: gene expansions. The network of brain regions identified in this study is strikingly similar to that identified in other psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, which suggests that treatment strategies in psychiatry may be beneficial for the management of psychotic symptoms in frontotemporal dementia.