Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 May;29(3):215-21.
doi: 10.1177/1533317513517035. Epub 2013 Dec 26.

Observation of social behavior in frontotemporal dementia

Mario F Mendez  1 , Sylvia S Fong, Jill S Shapira, Elvira E Jimenez, Natalie C Kaiser, Sarah A Kremen, Po-Heng Tsai
Affiliations

Observation of social behavior in frontotemporal dementia

Mario F Mendez et al. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2014 May.

Abstract

Background: The most characteristic manifestations of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) are abnormalities in social behavior. However, distinguishing bvFTD based on social behavior can be difficult in structured clinical settings.

Methods: Using a Social Observation Inventory, 10 patients with bvFTD and 10 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were compared to their caregiver interlocutors on 1-hour mealtime, in-home videotaped segments.

Results: Compared to caregivers and patients with AD, patients with bvFTD were significantly disturbed in social behavior. In contrast, patients with AD were indistinguishable from their caregivers. The lack of "you" comments and decreased tact and manners distinguished 92.6% of the patients with bvFTD from patients with AD and caregivers. The Social Observation Inventory scores correlated with scores on frontal-executive tests and socioemotional scales.

Conclusions: The systematic observation of social behavior during routine activities may be one of the best ways to distinguish patients with bvFTD from normal individuals and from patients with other dementias.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; autism; dementia; frontotemporal lobar degeneration; social behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ratnavalli E, Brayne C, Dawson K, Hodges JR. The prevalence of frontotemporal dementia. Neurology. 2002;58(11):1615–1621. - PubMed
    1. Rascovsky K, Hodges JR, Knopman D, et al. . Sensitivity of revised diagnostic criteria for the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia. Brain. 2011;134(pt 9):2456–2477. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Snowden J, Neary D, Mann D. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: clinical and pathological relationships. Acta Neuropathol. 2007;114(1):31–38. - PubMed
    1. Seeley WW, Allman JM, Carlin DA, et al. . Divergent social functioning in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease: reciprocal networks and neuronal evolution. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2007;21(4):S50–S57. - PubMed
    1. Mendez MF, Lauterbach EC, Sampson SM. An evidence-based review of the psychopathology of frontotemporal dementia: a report of the ANPA Committee on Research. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008;20(2):130–149. - PubMed

Publication types