Huntley Jonathan D, Fleming Stephen M, Mograbi Daniel C, Bor Daniel, Naci Lorina, Owen Adrian M, Howard Robert
Division of Psychiatry University College London London UK.
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging University College London London UK.
Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2021 Nov 29;7(1):e12203. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12203. eCollection 2021.
People with Alzheimer's disease (AD) demonstrate a range of alterations in consciousness. Changes in awareness of cognitive deficit, self-awareness, and introspection are seen early in AD, and dysfunction of awareness and arousal progresses with increasing disease severity. However, heterogeneity of deficits between individuals and a lack of empirical studies in people with severe dementia highlight the importance of identifying and applying biomarkers of awareness in AD. Impairments of awareness in AD are associated with neuropathology in regions that overlap with proposed neural correlates of consciousness. Recent developments in consciousness science provide theoretical frameworks and experimental approaches to help further understand the conscious experience of people with AD. Recognition of AD as a disorder of consciousness is overdue, and important to both understand the lived experience of people with AD and to improve care.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者表现出一系列意识改变。在AD早期即可观察到对认知缺陷、自我意识和内省的认知变化，且随着疾病严重程度的增加，意识和觉醒功能障碍会不断进展。然而，个体间缺陷的异质性以及针对重度痴呆患者的实证研究匮乏，凸显了识别和应用AD意识生物标志物的重要性。AD患者的意识障碍与与意识的神经关联区域重叠的神经病理学有关。意识科学的最新进展提供了理论框架和实验方法，有助于进一步理解AD患者的意识体验。将AD视为一种意识障碍早就应该了，这对于理解AD患者的生活体验以及改善护理都很重要。
