Apathy Clinical and Neuroscientific Perspectives from Neurology and Psychiatry

Apathy is characterized by loss of motivation, decreased initiative, and emotional blunting. It is highly prevalent in neurological, and psychiatric disorders like Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, cerebrovascular disorders, and mild behavioural impairment. It has negative outcomes including impairments in activities of daily living, caregiver burden, and higher rates of institutionalization and mortality. The definition of apathy has changed over the years alongside the development of diagnostic criteria and apathy scales and measurements. Apathy is emerging as a treatment target with interest in pharmacological, non-pharmacological, and neuromodulatory treatments for apathy. There is also an increased understanding of the neurobiology of apathy with functional and structural neuroimaging research studies. This book is a comprehensive, in-depth review from experts in neurology and psychiatry. It reviews the current state of apathy in these various disorders while also summarizing apathy diagnostic criteria, scales and measurements, neuropathology, and treatments.

André Aleman received his masters degree in Psychology (Neuropsychology and Psychophysiology) at Utrecht University in 1997, where he also obtained his PhD (cum laude), in 2001. His current research interests concern the neural underpinnings of cognitive and affective dysfunctions in psychosis and depression, in addition to changes in cognitive brain function during aging. In 2006 he received a European Young Investigator (EURYI) Award (1.2 M euro) from the European Science Foundation. In 2011 and 2012 he received large grants (1.5 M euro each) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (VICI) and the European Research Council (ERC Starting/consolidator grant). Dr. Krista Lanctôt is a Senior Scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook Research Institute, the head of the Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group and the Executive Director of the Medical Outcomes and Research in Economics (MORE) Research Centre. She is a full professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Toronto. She is the Vice Chair of Basic and Clinical Research in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Toronto. Dr. Lanctôt is an active researcher in clinical pharmacology and has published over 300 manuscripts. Her research focuses on optimizing the pharmacotherapy of cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with dementia and predementia states.