Frontotemporal dementia as a frontostriatal disorder: neostriatal morphology as a biomarker and structural basis for an endophenotype

• Published in: Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry Vol. 46; no. 5; p. 422
• Main Authors: Looi, Jeffrey C L, Walterfang, Mark, Velakoulis, Dennis, Macfarlane, Matthew D, Svensson, Leif Anders, Wahlund, Lars-Olof
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.05.2012
• Subjects: Biomarkers - cerebrospinal fluid; Corpus Striatum - pathology; Corpus Striatum - physiopathology; Endophenotypes; Frontal Lobe - pathology; Frontal Lobe - physiopathology; Frontotemporal Dementia - diagnosis; Frontotemporal Dementia - pathology; Frontotemporal Dementia - physiopathology; Humans; Models, Neurological; Nerve Degeneration - pathology; Neural Pathways - pathology; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; Neuroimaging - psychology
• ISSN: 1440-1614
• DOI: 10.1177/0004867411432076

This article reviews the evidence for a re-conceptualisation of a subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), as a frontostriatal disorder, working towards an endophenotype. We provide an overview of the role of frontostriatal circuits relevant to FTLD and FTD, as a subset of larger-scale distributed brain networks. We discuss the role of a strategic structure in these circuits, the neostriatum. Then we review the relationship of the clinical features of FTLD to frontostriatal circuits, correlating this with neuropsychological and neuropathological data. The unique structure and linkages of the neostriatum make it an ideal structure for in vivo neuroimaging to understand the neuroanatomical basis of FTD. We develop a frontostriatal endophenotypic model for FTD as a platform for further investigation.