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Apathy Associated With Impaired Recognition of Happy Facial Expressions in Huntington’s Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2019

Katherine Osborne-Crowley ,
Sophie C. Andrews ,
Izelle Labuschagne ,
Akshay Nair ,
Rachael Scahill ,
David Craufurd ,
Sarah J. Tabrizi ,
Julie C. Stout Open the ORCID record for Julie C. Stout [Opens in a new window]  and
the TRACK-HD Investigators
Katherine Osborne-Crowley*
Affiliation:
Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom
Sophie C. Andrews
Affiliation:
Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Izelle Labuschagne
Affiliation:
Cognition and Emotion Research Centre, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia
Akshay Nair
Affiliation:
Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom
Rachael Scahill
Affiliation:
Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom
David Craufurd
Affiliation:
Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom St. Mary’s Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
Sarah J. Tabrizi
Affiliation:
Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom
Julie C. Stout
Affiliation:
Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
the TRACK-HD Investigators
Affiliation:
Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Cognition and Emotion Research Centre, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom St. Mary’s Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Katherine Osborne-Crowley, Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London, Institute of Neurology, and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK. E-mail: k.osborne-crowley@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Objectives: Previous research has demonstrated an association between emotion recognition and apathy in several neurological conditions involving fronto-striatal pathology, including Parkinson’s disease and brain injury. In line with these findings, we aimed to determine whether apathetic participants with early Huntington’s disease (HD) were more impaired on an emotion recognition task compared to non-apathetic participants and healthy controls. Methods: We included 43 participants from the TRACK-HD study who reported apathy on the Problem Behaviours Assessment – short version (PBA-S), 67 participants who reported no apathy, and 107 controls matched for age, sex, and level of education. During their baseline TRACK-HD visit, participants completed a battery of cognitive and psychological tests including an emotion recognition task, the Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS) and were assessed on the PBA-S. Results: Compared to the non-apathetic group and the control group, the apathetic group were impaired on the recognition of happy facial expressions, after controlling for depression symptomology on the HADS and general disease progression (Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale total motor score). This was despite no difference between the apathetic and non-apathetic group on overall cognitive functioning assessed by a cognitive composite score. Conclusions: Impairment of the recognition of happy expressions may be part of the clinical picture of apathy in HD. While shared reliance on frontostriatal pathways may broadly explain associations between emotion recognition and apathy found across several patient groups, further work is needed to determine what relationships exist between recognition of specific emotions, distinct subtypes of apathy and underlying neuropathology. (JINS, 2019, 25, 453–461)

Keywords

Huntington’s diseaseEmotionApathySocial behaviorCognitionCognition disorders
Type
Regular Research
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , May 2019 , pp. 453 - 461
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2019 

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Footnotes

*

TRACK-HD Investigators: Australia—C. Campbell, M. Campbell, E. Frajman, C. Milchman, A. O’Regan (Monash University, Victoria). Canada—A. Coleman, R. Dar Santos, J. Decolongon, A. Sturrock (University of British Columbia, Vancouver). France—E. Bardinet, C. Jauffret, D. Justo, S. Lehericy, C. Marelli, K. Nigaud, P. Pourchot, R. Valabrègue (APHP, Hôpital Salpêtriere, Paris). Germany—N. Bechtel, S. Bohlen, R. Reilmann (University of Münster, Münster); A. Hoffman, P. Kraus (University of Bochum, Bochum); B. Landwehrmeyer (University of Ulm). Netherlands—S.J.A. van den Bogaard, E.M. Dumas, J. van der Grond, E.P. t’Hart, C. Jurgens, M.-N. Witjes-Ane (Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden). United Kingdom—N. Arran, J. Callaghan, C. Stopford (St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester); C. Frost, R. Jones (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London); C. Berna, H. Crawford, N. Fox, C. Gibbard, N. Hobbs, N. Lahiri, I. Malone, R. Ordidge, G. Owen, A. Patel, T. Pepple, J. Read, M. Say, R. Scahill, D. Whitehead, E. Wild (University College London, London); S. Keenan (Imperial College London, London); D.M. Cash (IXICO, London); S. Hicks, C. Kennard (Oxford). United States—T. Acharya, E. Axelson, H. Johnson, D. Langbehn, C. Wang (University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA); S. Lee, W. Monaco, H. Rosas (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard, MA); C. Campbell, S. Queller, K. Whitlock (Indiana University, IN); B. Borowsky, A. Tobin (CHDI).

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