Grasping Social Apathy: The Role of Reach-To-Grasp Action Kinematics for the Assessment of Social Apathy in Mild Neurocognitive Disorders

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Manera, Valeria^{a; b; *} | Galperti, Guenda^{c; d} | Rovini, Erika^{c; d} | Zeghari, Radia^{a; b} | Mancioppi, Gianmaria^{c; d} | Fiorini, Laura^e | Gros, Auriane^{a; b; f} | Mouton, Aurélie^{a; b; g} | Robert, Philippe^{a; b; g} | Cavallo, Filippo^{e; c; d}

Affiliations: [a] CoBTeK Laboratory, Université Cote d’Azur, Nice, France | [b] IA Association, Nice, France | [c] BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pontedera, Italy | [d] Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy | [e] Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy | [f] Department of Speech Therapy,Université Cote d’Azur, Nice, France | [g] Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice University Hospital, Nice, France

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Valeria Manera, CoBTeK laboratory, Université Cote d’Azur, Nice, Institut Claude Pompidou, 10 rue Molière, 06100 Nice, France. E-mail: valeria.manera@univ-cotedazur.fr.

Abstract: Background:Social apathy, a reduction in initiative in proposing or engaging in social activities or interactions, is common in mild neurocognitive disorders (MND). Current apathy assessment relies on self-reports or clinical scales, but growing attention is devoted to defining more objective, measurable and non-invasive apathy proxies. Objective:In the present study we investigated the interest of recording action kinematics in a social reach-to-grasp task for the assessment of social apathy. Methods:Thirty participants took part in the study: 11 healthy controls (HC; 6 females, mean age = 68.3±10.5 years) and 19 subjects with MND (13 females, mean age = 75.7±6.3 years). Based on the Diagnostic Criteria for Apathy, MND subjects were classified as socially apathetic (A-MND, N = 9) versus non-apathetic (NA-MND, N = 10). SensRing, a ring-shaped wearable sensor, was placed on their index finger, and subjects were asked to reach and grasp a can to place it into a cup (individual condition) and pass it to a partner (social condition). Results:In the reach-to-grasp phase of the action, HC and NA-MND showed different acceleration and velocity profiles in the social versus individual condition. No differences were found for A-MND. Conclusion:Previous studies showed the interest of recording patients’ level of weekly motor activity for apathy assessment. Here we showed that a 10-min reach-to-grasp task may provide information to differentiate socially apathetic and non-apathetic subjects with MND, thus providing a tool easily usable in the clinical practice. Future studies with a bigger sample are needed to better characterize these findings.

Keywords: Apathy, diagnosis, intention, motivation, motor activity, neurocognitive disorders, social behavior, social isolation

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200966

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 569-582, 2021