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. 2016 May 3;23(6):1001–1019. doi: 10.1111/ene.13002

Table 3.

Neuroimaging studies of apathy in PD

Study Subjects Sex (M/F) H and Y (Mean ± SD) Duration of PD (years) UPDRS‐III Imaging modality Imaging analytical method Diagnosis/measurement Key findings
Huang et al. (2013) 14 26 PDs
12 HCs
16/10
7/5
1–2.5 5.5 ± 0.7 No data [18F]FDG‐PET, T1‐weighted ROI (PET)
WB (T1)
BDI, BAI, AES Positive correlation between apathy and bi. ACC and orbitofrontal lobes
Inverse correlation between apathy and right inferior parietal and left superior temporal gyri
No volumetric difference between HCs and PDs
Lawrence et al. (2011) 55 10 low aPDs
10 high aPDs
No data 2.35 ± 0.6
2.7 ± 0.8
No data 25.6 ± 11.0
28.2 ± 11.4
H2 15O PET FMRI ROI AS ↓ Activity in left amygdala and striatum, bi. vmPFC, and midbrain in high aPDs
Le Jeune et al. (2009) 56, a 12 PDs 8/4 1.6 ± 1.2 (off)
0.9 ± 1.0 (on)
No data 14.3 ± 0.9 (off)
5.5 ± 3.4 (on)
[18F]FDG‐PET WB AES, MADRS, AMDP‐AT Positive correlation between apathy and metabolism in right, frontal and parietal regions and left fusiform gyrus
Inverse correlation between apathy and metabolism in bi. cingulate and left middle frontal gyri
Remy et al. (2005) 17 8 dPDs
12 PDs
7 HCs
5/3
9/3
1–3.5
1–3.5
3.1 ± 1.8
4.9 ± 2.6
24.3 ± 11.2
23.3 ± 6.7
[11C]RTI‐32 PET ROI BDI, AES, STAS Inverse correlation between apathy and binding value in bi. ventral striatum
Robert et al. (2012) 57 45 PDs (no depression) No data No data 11.3 ± 4.1 8.4 ± 5.9 (ON)
29.9 ± 12.2 (OFF)
[18F]FDG ‐PET WB AES, MADRS Positive correlations between apathy and cerebral metabolism in right inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, cuneus and insula
Inverse correlations between apathy and cerebellar metabolism in bi. posterior cerebellums
Robert et al. (2014) 58 36 PDs (no depression) No data No data No data 7.9 ± 5.4 [18F]FDG ‐PET WB AES, MADRS Positive correlation between apathy and increased metabolism in left PCC
Robert et al. (2014) 59 44 PDs (no depression) No data No data 11.4 ± 4.1 7.5 ± 5.2 (ON)b
32.6 ± 12.8 (OFF)
[18F]FDG ‐PET ROI AES, MADRS, AMDP‐AT Inverse correlation between metabolism in right ventral striatum and postoperative increased AES scores
Thobois et al. (2010) 60 12 aPDs
13 PDs
6/6
10/3
No data 10.3 ± 2.2
10.5 ± 3.0
14.5 ± 9.9
10.3 ± 5.9
[11C]‐raclopride PET WB, ROI BDI, BAI, SAS aPDs > PDs: Binding value in bi. orbitofrontal and temporal cortices, and PCC; left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, striatum and thalamus; right amygdala
Santangelo et al. (2015) 61 14 aPDs
14 PDs
4/10
4/10
No data 13.5 ± 6.1
12.8 ± 5.8
14.27 ± 7.4
14.1 ± 8.9
[123I]‐FP‐CIT SPECT ROI AES PDs > aPDs: dopamine in right caudate
Inverse correlation between dopamine density in right caudate and apathy
Isella et al. (2002) 62 33 PDs
25 HCs
18/15
12/13
No data 4.9 ± 3.86 31.9 ± 15.69 T1‐weighted ROI AES, GDS PDs: Apathy was positively correlated with bi. temporal atrophy but inversely correlated with thickness of the right mesial temporal lobe
Reijnders et al. (2010) 63 60 PDs No data 1.5–3 6.6 ± 4.3 17.3 ± 4.9 T1‐weighted WB AES, LARS, HAM‐D, NPI Inverse correlation between apathy and grey matter density in bi. precentral gyri, inferior frontal and parietal gyri, and insula, right precuneus and PCC
Baggio et al. (2015) 64 25 aPDs
37 PDs
31 HCs
20/5
17/20
15/16
1.84 ± 0.69
1.70 ± 0.57
7.24 ± 4.13
7.54 ± 5.52
15.56 ± 7.94
15.37 ± 8.48
RS‐FMRI
T1‐weighted
ROI AS, BDI HCs and PDs > aPDs: Functional connectivity in left limbic striatal and frontal networks
PDs + aPDs: Apathy was inversely correlated with connectivities between left limbic striatal and left frontal areas and between left frontal subdivisions
No group differences or correlations with apathy or GM volume or subcortical volume/ shape
Skidmore et al. (2013) 40 15 PDs 12/3 No data No data 37 ± 13 RS‐FMRI WB HAM‐D, LARS Apathy was positively correlated with regional cerebral functional signal in right middle orbital gyrus and bi. subgenual cingulate, but inversely correlated with left SMA, IPL, fusiform gyrus, and bi. cerebellums
Apathy was predicted by regional cerebral functional signal in left SMA
Carriere et al. (2014) 65 10 HCs
10 aPDs
10 PDs
4/6
6/4
6/4
No data 11.9 ± 6.5
11.9 ± 3.2
28.1 ± 10.8
11.9 ± 3.2
T1‐weighted DTI T1: ROI
DTI: WB
LARS PDs + HCs > aPDs:
Left nucleus accumbens
HCs > aPDs:
Bi. nucleus accumbens
PDs > aPDs:
Dorsolateral part of left caudate
Positive correlation between apathy and atrophy in left nucleus accumbens
No difference in FA

ACC, anterior cingulated cortex; AES, Apathy Evaluation Scale; ALFF, amplitude of low frequency function; AMDP‐AT, Association for Methodology and Documentation in Psychiatry − Anxiety; aPDs, PD patients with apathy; AS, Apathy Scale; BAI, Beck Anxiety Inventory; BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; bi., bilateral; dPDs, PD patients with depression; DTI, diffusion tensor imaging; FA, fractional anisotropy; GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale; GM, grey matter; HAM‐D, Hamilton Depression Scale; HCs, healthy controls; IPL, inferior parietal lobule; LARS, Lille Apathy Rating Scale; MADRS, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale; NPI, Neuropsychiatric Inventory; PCC, posterior cingulate cortex; PDs, patients with PD alone; PET, positron emission tomography; ROI, region of interest; RS‐FMRI, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging; SAS, Starkstein Apathy Scale; SMA, supplementary motor area; SPECT, single‐photon emission computed tomography; STAS, State‐Trait Anxiety Scale; UPDRS‐III, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex; WB, whole brain.

a

Only the postoperative AES scores are used here as apathy significantly increased after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation;

b

Only pre‐operative UPDRS‐III scores are shown here.