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Brief-Report

Are Deficits in Social Cognition Linked to Autobiographical Memory in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease?

Published Online:January 25, 2017https://doi.org/10.1024/1016-264X/a000187

Abstract

Abstract. We investigated theory of mind (ToM) deficits in Alzheimer‘s disease (AD) and its possible connection to autobiographical memory (ABM). Patients and matched controls were evaluated and compared using a video-based ToM test, an autobiographical fluency task, and a neuropsychological test battery. We found that ToM deficits were positively associated with semantic ABM in the clinical group, whereas a positive relationship appeared between ToM and episodic ABM in controls. We hypothesize that this reflects the course of the disease as well as that semantic ABM is used for ToM processing, being still accessible in AD. Furthermore, we assume that it is also less efficient, which in turn leads to a specific deficit profile of social cognition.


Können Defizite in sozialer Kognition auf das Gedächtnis von Patienten mit Alzheimer-Krankheit zurückgeführt werden?

Zusammenfassung. Die Studie untersucht den Zusammenhang zwischen Theory of Mind (ToM) und autobiographischem Gedächtnis (ABM) an Patienten mit Alzheimer-Demenz (AD). Hierfür wurden die ToM- und ABM-Leistungen der Kranken mit einer passenden Kontrollgruppe verglichen, zusätzlich wurde die neuropsychologische Testbatterie CERAD-NP durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ToM-Fähigkeiten in der klinischen Gruppe mit dem semantischen ABM korreliert waren, während eine positive Beziehung zwischen ToM und episodischen ABM in der Kontrollgruppe bestand. Aufgrund der Befunde wird vermutet, dass semantische Inhalte für die ToM genutzt werden, weil sie im Krankheitsverlauf länger erhalten bleiben und einfacher zugänglich sind. Darüber hinaus scheinen sie weniger effizient zu sein, was eventuell die assoziierten ToM-Defizite erklärt.

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