Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric Predictors of Deteriorating Social Cognition in
Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) 
   Lead Investigator:    Rachel Hamilton
   Institution      :    Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
   E-Mail           :    rkhamilt@wakehealth.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1446



   Proposal Description:
   PROBLEM STATEMENT / RATIONALE:  Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a clinical syndrome hallmarked by progressive deterioration in personality, behavior, and cognition due to neurodegeneration in frontal and temporal lobes (Rascovsky et al., 2007). Due to its young onset, rapid course, and the centrality of social cognitive deficits, bVFTD is associated with significant socioeconomic burden, including productivity-related costs and caregiver stress (Galvin, Howard, Denny, Dickinson,  Tatton, 2017 Hsieh, Irish, Daveson, Hodges,  Piguet, 2013 Takeda et al., 2019). Accordingly, identification of factors that influence the rate of decline is necessary to facilitate prioritization of treatment targets to preserve social functioning.                                  GOAL:  The current research proposal seeks to explore variables predictive of decline in social cognition in bvFTD, specifically examining factors that influence the slope of deterioration. Social cognition is a multidimensional construct encompassing psychological processes involved in social behavior and social interaction (Adolphs, 1999), and includes processes such as empathy, mentalizing, and self-monitoring. For the current study, social cognition will be operationalized as empathic concern, personal distress/emotional contagion, perspective-taking, self-regulatory ability, and sensitivity to expressive behavior of others, as measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and Revised Self-monitoring Scale (RSMS).                                              OBJECTIVES:                                                                      The primary aim of the proposed study is to delineate whether neurocognitive or neuropsychiatric impairments (e.g., amotivation, affective dysregulation, impulse control problems, and social inappropriateness) are more predictive of the rate of decline in empathic responding in bvFTD. Variables of interest include neuropsychological test data, C