School of Medical Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
School of Psychology, The University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 Mar;34(3):497-503. doi: 10.1002/gps.5045. Epub 2018 Dec 27.
Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is clinically characterised by a wide range of motor, cognitive, and behavioural features but remains challenging to diagnose accurately. Despite recent evidence supporting the presence of social cognition and emotion processing disturbances, few studies have explored the nature of empathic ability in CBS. This study aimed to (a) investigate the extent to which cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy are affected in CBS and (b) to determine the impact of such changes on carer burden. Empathic capacity was assessed in 29 CBS patients and 28 matched healthy controls. We employed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), an instrument measuring: (a) perspective taking, (b) fantasy, (c) empathic concern, and (d) personal distress. A significant change in both perspective taking and empathic concern was observed in CBS following disease onset. Furthermore, affective empathy deficits in CBS patients predicted higher levels of carer burden. Disturbances in both cognitive and affective empathy are present in CBS and lead to increased levels of carer burden.
皮质基底节综合征（CBS）在临床上表现为广泛的运动、认知和行为特征，但仍难以准确诊断。尽管最近有证据支持社交认知和情绪处理障碍的存在，但很少有研究探讨 CBS 患者的同理心能力本质。本研究旨在：(a) 调查 CBS 患者同理心的认知和情感维度受到多大程度的影响；(b) 确定这些变化对照顾者负担的影响。同理心能力在 29 名 CBS 患者和 28 名匹配的健康对照组中进行了评估。我们采用了人际反应指数（IRI），该工具测量：(a) 观点采择，(b) 幻想，(c) 同理心关怀，和 (d) 个人痛苦。在 CBS 发病后，观察到患者的观点采择和同理心关怀均发生了显著变化。此外，CBS 患者的情感同理心缺陷预测了更高水平的照顾者负担。CBS 患者存在认知和情感同理心障碍，导致照顾者负担增加。
