Poster No:
245
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Kiiya Shibata1, Behnaz Akbarian1
Institutions:
1Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
First Author:
Co-Author:
Introduction:
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) involves progressive changes in personality, language, cognition, and movement, with antisocial behaviors (ASB) particularly common in the behavioral variant. Such behaviors range from minor social infractions to serious criminal acts, impacting both individuals and society. Sensitive measurement of these symptoms is essential. The Social Behavioral Questionnaire (SBQ) is an informant-based tool designed to assess ASB in FTD. Initial validation demonstrated good internal consistency and differentiation between bvFTD and other dementias, especially early in the disease (Phan et al., 2023). Exploratory factor analysis identified two dimensions-aggression and rule-breaking.
This study applied item response theory (IRT) to the SBQ, and explored neurocorrelates of the SBQ. IRT models the probability of endorsing each item as a function of a latent trait level, offering advantages over classical test theory (CTT). By examining item estimates, IRT identifies which items are most informative, guides refinements, and improves precision and utility.
Methods:
Between July 2018 and November 2024, we recruited 180 participants with FTD (bvFTD=105, other=75), and a care partner who completed the SBQ. Data collection is ongoing. After CTT preliminary analyses, we fit a 1-Parameter Logistic (1PL) and a 2-Parameter Logistic (2PL) model to the binary-response SBQ data. Likelihood ratio test, Akaike's Information Criterion, and Bayesian Information Criterion were used to evaluate model fit. Person and item fit were examined using standardized residuals, item characteristic curves, and likelihood ratio tests. Test and item information curves were used to evaluate coverage along the latent trait continuum. This approach enabled identification of the most parsimonious model and provided insights into item- and test-level measurement quality.
Voxel-based morphometry was applied to T1-weighted images, including segmentation (gray/white/CSF), normalization to MNI space, and modulation for brain size. Adjusting volumes by intracranial volume (ICV) allowed precise regional comparisons. Grey matter volumes were extracted and summed within defined ROIs. We then performed linear regressions to relate these regional volumes to SBQ scores, controlling for age, sex, and ICV.
Results:
Model comparisons using the likelihood ratio test, AIC, and BIC favored the more parsimonious 1PL model over the 2PL model. Under the 1PLl, no person-level misfit was observed, indicating that individual response patterns were well-explained by the model. Two items showed evidence of misfit, suggesting these items may not align perfectly with the underlying latent trait. Despite these item-level discrepancies, test-level information curves demonstrated desirable coverage across the latent continuum, providing good precision at lower levels of the trait and increasing as the latent trait of ASB rose. Item- and test-level characteristic curves exhibited the expected logistic shapes. At the test level, predicted IRT scores corresponded closely with observed CTT true scores, indicating that the 1PL model provided a consistent and interpretable representation of the data.
Linear regressions between the SBQ scores and brain volume revealed significant regional volume loss in the right frontal ventromedial, orbitofrontal, inferolateral frontal, and right anterior cingulate areas, consistent with previous literature (Mendez, 2022). When regressions were run with aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors separately, rule-breaking behaviors alone did not demonstrate regional volume loss in these areas, though aggressive behaviors did.
Conclusions:
Overall, the SBQ demonstrated a meaningful spread of item difficulty across the latent trait, allowing for finer differentiation among patients. The observed linear relationships between orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex volumes and ASB were significant for total SBQ and aggressive behavior subset, aligning with previous literature.
Disorders of the Nervous System:
Neurodegenerative/ Late Life (eg. Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s) 1
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Cognition 2
Keywords:
Aging
Cognition
Degenerative Disease
DISORDERS
Neurological
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Other
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Patients
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Yes
Are you Internal Review Board (IRB) certified?
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Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel?
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Yes
Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel?
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Not applicable
Please indicate which methods were used in your research:
Functional MRI
For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?
3.0T
Which processing packages did you use for your study?
Free Surfer
Provide references using APA citation style.
1. Mendez, M. F. (2022). Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia and Social and Criminal Transgressions. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 34(4), 328–340. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21080224
2. Phan, T. X., Reeder, J. E., Keener, L. C., Considine, C. M., Zald, D. H., Claassen, D. O., & Darby, R. R. (2023). Measuring Antisocial Behaviors in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia With a Novel Informant-Based Questionnaire. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 35(4), 374–384. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20220135
No