Frontotemporal dementia

Abstract

Recent research reveals an overlap between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and a variety of primary psychiatric disorders, challenging the artificial divisions between psychiatry and neurology. This chapter offers an overview of the clinical syndromes associated with FTD while describing links between these syndromes and neuroimaging. This is followed by a review of the neuropathology and genetic changes in the brain. We will illustrate the syndromic overlap that exists between FTD and several primary psychiatric disorders including bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia. Emphasis will be placed on the behavioral variant of FTD (bvFTD), which is the common clinical syndrome seen with degeneration of the frontal lobes and is the most likely to be encountered in psychiatric settings.

Keywords: Apathy; Behavioral; Degeneration; Dementia; Disinhibition; Executive; Frontotemporal; Lobar; Memory.