INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 02 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 08:00 am - 09:15 am Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 02: Aging \| MCI \| Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1 Final Abstract #75 Visuospatial Working Memory in Behavioural Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: A Comparative Analysis with Alzheimer's Disease using the Box Task David Foxe, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Muireann Irish, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia James Carrick, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Sau Chi Cheung, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Her Teng, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia James Burrell, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Roy Kessels, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands Olivier Piguet, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Category: Dementia (Alzheimer's Disease) Keyword 1: assessment Keyword 2: memory disorders Keyword 3: visuospatial functions Objective: The memory profile of the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) remains a topic of discussion. The current consensus criteria for bvFTD describe a neuropsychological profile of relatively intact episodic memory and visuospatial abilities. Recent research, however, suggests that significant episodic memory disturbances are present in the early stages of bvFTD, while visuospatial deficits have also been documented in this syndrome. As such, the neuropsychological profile of bvFTD remains unclear, and has led to a growing interest in how related processes, such as visuospatial working memory, are potentially affected. Here, we investigated the visuospatial working memory profiles of bvFTD and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the Box Task, a novel computerised test. Participants and Methods: Twenty-eight bvFTD and 28 AD patients, as well as 32 age-matched controls were recruited. All participants completed the Box Task and conventional neuropsychological tests of working memory, episodic memory, and visuospatial function. The Box Task is a computerised visuospatial working memory task where participants locate and remember hidden objects within closed boxes, presented at varying locations and set sizes (i.e., 4-, 6, and 8-boxes). The between-error measure on this task is sensitive at detecting visuospatial working memory disturbance. Results: Both the bvFTD and AD groups exhibited significantly more Box Task between-search errors than the control group across all set sizes (all p -values < .003). Notably, the AD group demonstrated a significantly higher error rate compared to the bvFTD group (all p-values < .012). Regression analyses revealed that attention, working memory, and executive function were significant contributors to error performance in the bvFTD group (bvFTD full model R² = .593), while visual episodic memory, visual attention, and executive function contributed to error performance in the AD group (AD full model R² = .511). The Box Task demonstrated high utility in differentiating between bvFTD and AD, with a decision tree correctly classifying 75% of AD patients and 82.1% of bvFTD patients. Conclusions: Our findings reveal significant visuospatial working memory impairments in bvFTD, albeit of lesser severity compared to disease-matched AD patients. Tests that assess visuospatial memory, such as the Box Task, show strong potential for distinguishing between bvFTD and AD. Notably, the Box Task's effectiveness was shown to surpass that of most conventional neuropsychological tests. Overall, this research underscores the prevalence of visuospatial working memory impairment in bvFTD and clinical relevance of visuospatial memory evaluation in effectively distinguishing between bvFTD and AD.

Poster

02/15/2024
08:00 am - 09:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 02: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1

Final Abstract #75

Visuospatial Working Memory in Behavioural Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: A Comparative Analysis with Alzheimer's Disease using the Box Task

David Foxe, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Muireann Irish, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
James Carrick, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Sau Chi Cheung, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Her Teng, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
James Burrell, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Roy Kessels, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Olivier Piguet, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Category: Dementia (Alzheimer's Disease)

Keyword 1: assessment
Keyword 2: memory disorders
Keyword 3: visuospatial functions

Objective:

The memory profile of the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) remains a topic of discussion. The current consensus criteria for bvFTD describe a neuropsychological profile of relatively intact episodic memory and visuospatial abilities. Recent research, however, suggests that significant episodic memory disturbances are present in the early stages of bvFTD, while visuospatial deficits have also been documented in this syndrome. As such, the neuropsychological profile of bvFTD remains unclear, and has led to a growing interest in how related processes, such as visuospatial working memory, are potentially affected. Here, we investigated the visuospatial working memory profiles of bvFTD and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the Box Task, a novel computerised test.

Participants and Methods:

Twenty-eight bvFTD and 28 AD patients, as well as 32 age-matched controls were recruited. All participants completed the Box Task and conventional neuropsychological tests of working memory, episodic memory, and visuospatial function. The Box Task is a computerised visuospatial working memory task where participants locate and remember hidden objects within closed boxes, presented at varying locations and set sizes (i.e., 4-, 6, and 8-boxes). The between-error measure on this task is sensitive at detecting visuospatial working memory disturbance.

Results:

Both the bvFTD and AD groups exhibited significantly more Box Task between-search errors than the control group across all set sizes (all p -values < .003). Notably, the AD group demonstrated a significantly higher error rate compared to the bvFTD group (all p-values < .012). Regression analyses revealed that attention, working memory, and executive function were significant contributors to error performance in the bvFTD group (bvFTD full model R² = .593), while visual episodic memory, visual attention, and executive function contributed to error performance in the AD group (AD full model R² = .511). The Box Task demonstrated high utility in differentiating between bvFTD and AD, with a decision tree correctly classifying 75% of AD patients and 82.1% of bvFTD patients.

Conclusions:

Our findings reveal significant visuospatial working memory impairments in bvFTD, albeit of lesser severity compared to disease-matched AD patients. Tests that assess visuospatial memory, such as the Box Task, show strong potential for distinguishing between bvFTD and AD. Notably, the Box Task's effectiveness was shown to surpass that of most conventional neuropsychological tests. Overall, this research underscores the prevalence of visuospatial working memory impairment in bvFTD and clinical relevance of visuospatial memory evaluation in effectively distinguishing between bvFTD and AD.