Abstract Details

Title Microstructural Correlates of Emotional Attribution Impairment in Early Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Topic Behavioral Neurology

Presentation(s) S18 - (-)

Poster/Presentation
Number 003

Objective

Background Changes in empathic skills, encompassing emotional information processing, as well as mentalization of others' cognitive states, has been previously described in non-demented ALS patients. Nevertheless, the underlying white matter microstructural alterations remain substantially unexplored.

Design/Methods 20 non-demented ALS patients with either probable or definite ALS diagnosis, and 56 HC participated in the study. All subjects performed the Story-Based Empathy Task (SET), an original non-verbal test, assessing the ability to attribute mental states to other individuals, requiring the identification of intentions (Intention Attribution condition, IA), emotional states (Emotional Attribution condition, EA, and the ability to infer physical relationship (Causal Inference condition, CI). A subgroup of subjects (16 ALS patients and 20 HC) underwent a Diffusion Tensor Imaging study, in order to reveal possible associations between white-matter microstructural properties (Fractional Anisotropy, FA) and patients' performances in the SET.

Results Group comparison on SET scores highlighted a significant reduction of empathic understanding in ALS compared with HC, involving specifically the EA condition, but not IA and CI conditions. Additionally, EA scores in patients resulted positively correlated with FA in the right Inferior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus, Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus and Uncinate Fasciculus.

Conclusions Our findings confirm an early impairment of empathic processing in non-demented ALS subjects, affecting selectively the identification of others' emotional states (i.e. Emotional Attribution), correlated with alterations of microstructural integrity in ventral associative bundles connecting occipital, temporo-limbic, and orbitofrontal regions in the right hemisphere. The decreased effectiveness of emotional attribution skills in ALS patients may indicate an incipient degeneration of the right frontotemporal-limbic networks, and can be considered as another cognitive marker of the early frontotemporal damage in ALS.

Authors/Disclosures
PRESENTER	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
Alessandro Serra, MD (University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center)	Dr. Serra has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Biogen Idec. Dr. Serra has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Bristol Myers Squibb.
	No disclosure on file
Sandro Iannaccone	No disclosure on file
Massimo Corbo	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
Andrea Falini	No disclosure on file
Stefano F. Cappa, MD	Dr. Cappa has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Elservier. The institution of Dr. Cappa has received research support from Italian Minsitry of Health.

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