Personality and Dementia

Abstract

Personality describes persistent human behavioral responses to broad classes of environmental stimuli. Change in personality may be an early sign of dementia. Our goal was to review scientific literature on the association between personality and dementia. Medline and Google Scholar searches were conducted for relevant articles, chapters, and books published since 1980. Search terms used included personality, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies. People with dementia commonly exhibit changes in personality that sometimes precede the other early clinical manifestations of the condition, such as cognitive impairment. Premorbid personality might be a determining factor so that caricature or exaggeration of original personality emerges as dementia progresses. Although it is generally accepted that these personality changes reflect the impact of progressive brain damage, there are several possible patterns of personality alterations with dementia. Early identification of personality modifications might assist with the timely diagnosis of dementia.

Personality Traits Are Associated With Cortical Development Across Adolescence: A Longitudinal Structural MRI Study

“…Genetic, environmental, and cultural factors guide the development and expression of personality (Vukasovi c & Bratko, 2015), and brain structure is one possible mediator of these manifold influences (Yarkoni, 2015). It is well established that traumatic brain injuries and lesions and atrophy caused by neurodegenerative diseases are associated with personality trait changes (Cipriani, Borin, Del Debbio, & Di Fiorino, 2015;Norup & Mortensen, 2015). Neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled the study of brain-personality relations in healthy individuals.…”

Personality traits in women with Alzheimer's disease: Comparisons with control groups with the NEO-FFI

“…The overall common objective is to understand personality changes in Dementia through comparing the pre-morbid and current measurement, using the NEO-PI (or NEO-FFI) instrument, in retrospective and current evaluation, normally by means of Informants. Evidence of an increase in the Neuroticism dimension and a decrease in the Conscientiousness in Dementia dimension is seemingly transversal and unanimous across the research (e.g., Balsis et al, 2005;Chatterjee, Strauss, Smyth, & Whitehouse, 1992;Cipriani et al, 2015;Dawson, Welsh-Bohmer, & Siegler, 2000;Duchek et al, 2007;Low, Harrison, & Lackersteen, 2013;Pocnet et al, 2011Pocnet et al, , 2012Pocnet et al, , 2013Siegler, Dawson, & Welsh, 1994;Strauss & Pasupathi, 1994;Strauss, Pasupathi, & Chatterjee, 1993;Terracciano et al, 2014;Wahlin & Byrne, 2011;Wilson et al, 2003). However, one of these studies biggest limitations is considered to be the lack of control groups.…”

“…Personality changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been documented in the literature (e.g., Caselli, 2015;Cipriani, Borin, Del Debbio, & Di Fiorino, 2015;Osborne, Simpson, & Stokes, 2010;Pocnet, Rossier, Antonietti, & von Gunten, 2011;Pocnet, Rossier, Antonietti, & von Gunten, 2012, Pocnet, Rossier, Antonietti, & von Gunten, 2013von Gunten, Pocnet, & Rossier, 2009;Wahlin & Byrne, 2011). Some researchers argue that personality changes precede the cognitive changes which typically point to the diagnosis of AD, therefore taking on great importance.…”

Shedding Light on Manic Syndromes and Dementia

“…Dementia includes impairments in cognitive skills associated with gradual loss of functional status and ability to perform everyday activities. Decline in memory is considered a hallmark symptom of dementia, but non-cognitive symptoms such as changes in personality [1], delusions [2,3] (sometimes in bizarre forms [4,5]), misidentification syndromes [6], mood changes [7], sexual disinhibition [8], wandering [9], aggressive behavior [10], and other neuropsychiatric symptoms [11,12] are also prevalent, especially during later stages. Alois Alzheimer, describing the disease that bears his name, reports symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and verbal outbursts [13].…”