How To Spot Pick's Disease (Frontotemporal Dementia)

Lack Of Empathy

As Pick’s disease worsens, the patient loses the ability to see things from another person’s point of view, resulting in a lack of empathy. Consequently, even somebody who was once known for their kindness can no longer respond appropriately to another person’s distress. Similarly, they lose the ability to read common social cues. Pick’s disease damages a brain pathway called the ventral salience network that helps individuals read emotional information and decide on the best way to respond to it. Damage to the ventral salience pathway causes individuals to lose the ability to correctly interpret somebody else’s emotions and thus empathize with them. It also impairs a patient’s ability to detect sarcasm or insincerity.

Keep reading for more on spotting Pick's disease.