BackgroundNeurodegenerative diseases might affect social cognition in various ways depending on their components (theory of mind, emotional processing, attribution bias, and social perception) and the subtype of dementia they cause. This review aims to explore this difference in cognitive function among individuals with different aetiologies of dementia.MethodsThe following databases were explored: MEDLINE via PubMed, Cochrane Library, Lilacs, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. We selected studies examining social cognition in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases in which dementia was the primary symptom that was studied. The neurodegenerative diseases included Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. The search yielded 2,803 articles.ResultsOne hundred twenty-two articles were included in the present review. The summarised results indicate that people with neurodegenerative diseases indeed have deficits in social cognitive performance. Both in populations with Alzheimer's disease and in populations with frontotemporal dementia, we found that emotional processing was strongly affected. However, although theory of mind impairment could also be observed in the initial stages of frontotemporal dementia, in Alzheimer's disease it was only appreciated when performing highly complex task or in advanced stages of the disease.ConclusionsEach type of dementia has a differential profile of social cognition deterioration. This review could provide a useful reference for clinicians to improve detection and diagnosis, which would undoubtedly guarantee better interventions.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020152562, PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42020152562.

Background:Due to demographic evolution and the progressive aging of the population, the incidence of dementia has increased worldwide. Many questions about this syndrome have not been resolved yet, such as the relationship between dementia and deficits on social cognition.Therefore, the present review aims to explore this relationship and to establish the possible differential patterns of social cognition deficits in diverse types of neurodegenerative dementias.Methods:The literature searchwas conducted in several electronic databases, including MEDLINE database via Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Lilacs, Web of Science (WoS) and PsycINFO.In order to avoid possible bias during the data extraction, all citations, abstracts information and full-text articles will be independently screen by two reviewers. Themethodological quality of thestudies will be appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Evaluation Checklists. All studies published in English or Spanish between October 2009 and October 2019 will be taken into account.Discussion: This systematic review will summarize the evidence provided during the last 10 years regarding the relationship between neurodegenerative dementia and social cognition deficits. This could provide a useful reference to clinicians, since properly defining social cognition profile of each type of neurodegenerative dementia would improve detection and diagnosis, which would undoubtedly guarantee better interventions.Systematic review registration: PROSPERO, ID: 152562

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