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Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

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Neuropsychiatric manifestations are observed in a significant proportion of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Severe behavioral disorders develop when ALS is combined with frontotemporal dementia, and this is regarded as a single continuum. Mental disorders are less marked in ALS with predominantly motor manifestations and most frequently consist of apathy. Depending on etiology, mental disorders in ALS can be psychogenic, reflecting the patient’s response to serious illness, or organic, developing as a result of degeneration and disconnection of fronto-subcortical and fronto-temporal connections. An important role in the development of mental disorders in ALS is played by various genetic factors, in particular, the occurrence of hexanucleotide expansion in the C9orf72 gene. In ALS without dementia, especially in the first months after diagnosis, there is a high risk of developing depressive disorders, which in severe cases can lead to suicide. Further research is needed in this direction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bashkir State Medical University, Russian Ministry of Health, Ufa, Russia

    M. A. Kutlubaev, E. V. Pervushina & D. K. Areprintseva

  2. Kazan State Medical University, Russian Ministry of Health, Kazan, Russia

    V. D. Mendelevich

  3. Buyanov City Clinical Hospital, Moscow Health Department, Moscow, Russia

    L. V. Brylev

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  1. M. A. Kutlubaev
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Correspondence to M. A. Kutlubaev.

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Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 122, No. 5, Iss. 1, pp. 36–42, May, 2022.

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Kutlubaev, M.A., Pervushina, E.V., Areprintseva, D.K. et al. Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Neurosci Behav Physi 52, 1354–1359 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01366-z

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