A – 125 Apathy and Executive Function: Patterns across Self and Informant Ratings

Objective The current study examined the potential cognitive correlates of patient apathy in an outpatient memory disorder clinic. Method Archival data were analyzed from standardized, clinically administered neuropsychological test batteries assessing multiple cognitive domains (i.e., language, attention, processing speed, learning/memory, executive functioning, visuospatial abilities). The sample (age: M=78.0, SD=6.9) consisted of 104 patients diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (n = 53) or mild cognitive impairment (n = 51). Results Pearson correlation coefficients revealed that informant-rated apathy (Apathy Evaluation Scale-Informant; AES-I) was significantly associated with patients’ performance on several executive-mediated tasks, with higher apathy associated with greater executive dysfunction. Specifically, the AES-I was correlated with the Total Categories Completed (r[55]=-.40, p=.003) and Number of Perseverative Errors (r[53]=.37, p=.01) on a task of novel problem-solving and set-shifting (Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; M-WCST). AES-I was also correlated with performance on a visual task of divided attention and rapid set-shifting (Trail Making Test-B; TMT-B), r(58)=.31, p=.02. Meanwhile, patients’ self-ratings of apathy (Apathy Evaluation Scale-Self; AES-S) was only correlated with TMT-B, r(100)=.23, p=.02, with higher self-reported apathy associated with greater executive difficulties. Conclusion The findings indicate that patient apathy may be related to executive dysfunction, suggesting the possibility that apathy is a concomitant of a neurocognitive disorder rather than a psychologically rooted symptom in some cognitively compromised older adults.