Neural basis of time cognition and its impairment in older adults with dementia

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K12732
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90030:Cognitive science-related
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Suzuki Maki 大阪大学, 大学院連合小児発達学研究科, 寄附講座講師 (80422145)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 認知症 / 時間認知

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Temporal cognition declines with age, and it is known to decline not only in healthy older adults but also in patients with dementia. In the early stages of the disease, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibit “time disorientation” and those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) exhibit “a fixed daily routine (stereotyped behavior)”. Both symptoms can be regarded as “disorders related to time cognition”. The objective of this study was to provide fundamental knowledge about the cognitive and neural basis of time cognition disorders by examining patients with AD and FTD. The present study indicated that the dysfunction of recognizing temporal information may differ depending on the type of background disease of dementia. Additionally, an effort was made to create a time-cognitive task that would be easily comprehensible to individuals with dementia.

Free Research Field

脳認知科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

時間情報を認知する能力は日常生活を送る上で基本的な認知能力である。認知症ではこの能力が低下することが知られているが、原因疾患によって低下する時間認知能力が異なる可能性が考えられた。認知症患者の時間認知能力を正しく検討するためには、先行研究で一般に用いられている課題だけではなく、患者にとって課題意図が容易に理解でき、なおかつ、時間認知の異なる側面を評価できる課題を工夫して用いることが重要であることが示唆された。