Reversal learning in FTD (fMRI)

Objective: Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that results in disinhibition and difficulty with flexible responding when provided feedback. Inflexible responding is observed early in the course of the illness and contributes to the financial and social morbidities of FTD. Reversal learning is an established cognitive paradigm that indexes flexible responding in the face of feedback signaling a change in reinforcement contingencies, with components of reversal learning associated with specific neurotransmitter systems. The objective of the study was to evaluate the neural mechanisms underlying impaired flexible behavioural responding in FTD using a reversal learning paradigm combined with fMRI. Methods: Twenty-two patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for FTD and twenty-one healthy controls completed the study. Participants completed an fMRI-adapted reversal learning task that indexes behavioural flexibility when provided positive and negative feedback. ...研究目标：额颞叶痴呆（Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD）是一类神经退行性疾病，可引发患者脱抑制症状，并使其在接收反馈时难以灵活调整行为。行为僵硬表现在疾病病程早期即可出现，且会加重额颞叶痴呆所带来的经济与社会负担。反转学习（reversal learning）是一种成熟的认知范式，用于量化个体在接收到提示强化规则改变的反馈时的行为灵活性，该范式的相关脑机制与特定神经递质系统存在关联。本研究旨在结合反转学习范式与功能磁共振成像（fMRI），探究额颞叶痴呆患者行为灵活反应受损的潜在神经机制。 方法：本研究共纳入22名符合额颞叶痴呆诊断标准的患者与21名健康对照受试者。所有参与者均完成了经功能磁共振成像适配的反转学习任务，该任务可在正负反馈情境下评估行为灵活性。……