Neurobiology and phenomenology of disturbances of self-consciousness in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

RUBENS REIMÃO** The purpose of this research was to verify sleep disorder events in the population of Furnas do Dionísio, State of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. This population of that rural and isolated black community, in the Municipality of Jaraguari, MS, has been assessed. Interviews made in the period of January 1999 to January 2000 have been used. Census-type sampling has been used, assessing all community inhabitants, with age of 18 or more years (Furnas Group), in a total of 120 subjects. The Control Group has been collected in a neighboring rural zone, in the same Municipality, also using Census-type sampling and the same age range, in a total 101 subjects. Populations have been compared in relation to age and gender. Furnas Group was composed by 97.5% of non-white people and the Control Group by 3.9% of non-white people (p = 0.001). The instruments used were the following: (a) Giglio adult sleep questionnaire (Giglio questionnaire); (b) Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; (c) CAGE scale, to assess the alcoholism behavior. In conclusion, the usual pattern of night sleep in Furnas Group showed a trend to have sleeping and wakening times earlier than those described in urban populations. Furnas Group sleeping times in the weekends, and wakening times, both in the weekdays and in the weekends, later than those of the Control Group. The usual standard diurnal sleep, in Furnas Group, showed a prevalence of regular siesta, similar to that observed in the Control Group. Both groups have siesta culture, since 66.3% of the Furnas Group and 59.4% of the Control Group regularly sleep during daytime. The events presented at the research time verified when comparing Furnas Group with the Control Group, evidence the following sleep disorders, with higher access of Furnas Group: wish to change the sleeping habits; dissatisfaction with the sleeping place; complaints of sleeping problems; difficulty in falling asleep; irresistible diurnal sleep; sleepwalking; swallowing difficulty and suffocation during sleep; asthma crisis during sleep; sleep paralysis; nightmare; current insomnia. None of the sleep disorders have been found more in the Control Group

Gamma-band (30-40 Hz) connectivity during hypnosis in individuals with equal high hypnotizability but different dissociative experiences: a preliminary study

“…The correlation between gamma reduction (Especially left frontotemporal) and self-consciousness and cognitive disorders has been observed in neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia [64-68] and Frontotemporal dementia [69,70]. Caixeta [71] studied the dimensions of self-consciousness of patients with Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and stated that most FTD behaviors might be phenomenological manifestations related to the theory of mind and insight de cits. Metacognitive de cits such as loss of self-awareness, self-monitoring, and self-knowledge characterize FTD [72][73][74].…”