AGGRESSIVE, SOCIALLY DISRUPTIVE AND ANTISOCIAL-BEHAVIOR ASSOCIATED WITH FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA

Background Research suggests an association between frontal and tempor al injury and antisocial conduct. We studied the frequency of antisoci al behaviours in fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) where pathology is ant erior frontal-temporal, compared with Alzheimer's disease (AD) where p athology is primarily posterior temporal-parietal. Method The presence of antisocial conduct was compared in 22 FTD versus 22 AD subjects. A li FTD patients had anterior frontal or temporal hypoperfusion with si ngle photon emission computed tomography, whereas those with AD had po sterior temporal-parietal hypoperfusion. Results Ten FTD and one AD su bject showed antisocial behaviours, which included assault, indecent e xposure, shoplifting and hit-and-run driving. Three FTD subjects were arrested. This difference was highly significant (P=0.004). Conclusion s Degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes predisposes to antisocial behaviour. This study supports a relationship between frontal-tempora l dysfunction and certain types of antisocial activities.