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The anatomy of cognitive impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: More than frontal lobe dysfunction

The anatomy of cognitive impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: More than frontal lobe dysfunction

Tsermentseli, Stella, Leigh, P. Nigel and Goldstein, Laura H. (2011) The anatomy of cognitive impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: More than frontal lobe dysfunction. Cortex, 48 (2). pp. 166-182. ISSN 0010-9452 (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2011.02.004)

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Abstract

Cognitive and behavioural impairments accompanying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been reported since the early 20th century. Typically, these changes can be associated with a dysexecutive syndrome or manifest as a frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Although the nature of specific frontotemporal dysfunction in ALS remains to be refined, as with the clinical presentation, there is likely to be significant heterogeneity. This article will review the current state of knowledge regarding the neuropathological and neuroanatomical basis for cognitive dysfunction in ALS. Neuropathological findings suggest that ALS does not selectively affect the frontotemporal network but rather is part of a broad clinico-pathological spectrum now known as TAR-DNA binding protein (TDP)-43 proteinopathies. Functional neuroimaging has supported neuropsychological findings of frontotemporal dysfunction but has also implied the involvement of somatosensory areas. Structural neuroimaging has not been able to establish a specific hypothesis of extra-motor cortical atrophy beyond the combination of various frontal, temporal and limbic areas. The finding of reduction in the integrity of white matter in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes including long association fibers suggests that subcortical involvement may underlie both cognitive and functional changes in ALS. Future perspectives for further investigations are highlighted.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: [1] Published online 12 February 2011. [2] Published in Cortex, Volume 48, Issue 2, February 2012 - Frontal lobes. Edited by Marco Catani and Donald Stuss.
Uncontrolled Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, cognitive impairment, neuropathology, neuroimaging
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
R Medicine > RZ Other systems of medicine
Pre-2014 Departments: School of Health & Social Care
School of Health & Social Care > Department of Psychology & Counselling
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 14 Oct 2016 09:17
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/6834

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