How dementia affects the brain’s ability to empathize

Patients with frontotemporal dementia often lack the ability to feel empathy. A study at Lund University and the Karolinska Institutet can now show that these patients do not display the same brain activity as healthy individuals when witnessing others’ pain, a finding that is hoped to increase understanding of this specific form of dementia.
– “It is an important piece of the puzzle that now falls into place as we can see how people with frontotemporal dementia empathize,” says Alexander Santillo, researcher and associate professor of psychiatry at Lund University and senior consultant in psychiatry.