Dementia and emotion project

In these studies, we are examining the ways that emotion (especially reactivity, regulation, and empathy), personality, language, and social behavior (especially marital interaction) are altered in the early stages of organic brain syndromes (e.g., frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease). Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are two common dementias that both present significant problems in clinical diagnosis and patient management. In the early stages of FTD, many of the symptoms are behavioral, including changes in emotional behavior, social behavior and personality. These behavioral symptoms have not been well-specified and, thus, FTD often goes unrecognized or misdiagnosed. In the early stages of AD, cognitive changes (e.g., memory loss) are most prominent, but changes in socio-emotional behavior and personality may develop later. As with FTD, tools for precisely assessing these socio-emotional and personality changes in AD are lacking.

We are developing a more comprehensive assessment of emotion, social behavior and personality in these two clinical syndromes, which should enable us to detect subtle changes in the emotional system associated with the onset and course of neuropathology. This assessment will measure:

1. actual emotional behavior as it occurs (as opposed to solely relying on retrospective reports);
2. major emotional functions including emotional reactivity, emotional regulation and emotional comprehension/knowledge;
3. major classes of emotion including negative emotions, positive emotions and self-conscious emotions;
4. different contexts in which emotions occur including when the person is alone and responding to well-specified stimuli and when the person is in meaningful social contexts (e.g., interacting with a loved one);
5. multiple indicators of emotion including subjective experience, expressive behavior and autonomic nervous system physiology;
6. changes in emotional functioning that occur over time; and
7. ancillary changes in personality.

The research addresses three specific aims:

1. to use methods derived from basic behavioral research to evaluate differences and changes in emotional reactivity, emotional regulation, emotional knowledge and personality in FTD and AD;
2. to evaluate the relationship that purported genetic markers of FTD have with emotional behavior and personality in families with FTD;
3. to evaluate changes in social behavior in FTD and AD patients by studying dyadic interaction with spouses.

Delineating socio-emotional and personality changes in dementia can contribute to more accurate, earlier diagnosis; identifying important subtypes of these disorders; our understanding of the relationship between different brain regions and emotional behavior; and helping us better deal with the profound impact that these disorders have on the lives of patients and their families.

Research publications

To find and read articles published by the Levenson lab, follow these links:

• Articles on the lab website
• PubMed search