Personality Traits and Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Background and Aims: Both personality changes and behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPS) may be associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in later life and help identify incipient dementia. We wished to investigate the links between personality and BPS in MCI. Method: We studied premorbid personality traits as estimated 5 years back and their changes in 83 control subjects and 52 MCI patients using the revised NEO Personality Inventory for the Five-Factor Model completed by a proxy. Information on BPS was obtained using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Analyses were controlled for current depression and anxiety. Results: Premorbid neuroticism and openness to experience were associated with the total NPI score. The changes in neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experiences, and conscientiousness were associated with apathy and affective symptoms. Conclusions: Personality changes and BPS occur in MCI. The occurrence of affective BPS and apathy is associated with both premorbid personality traits and their changes.

Interaction between personality traits and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology modulates cognitive performance

“…This finding may seem less expected because clinical AD symptoms, such as troublesome behaviour [53] and anxiety [54], and dementia risk [17, 18, 20, 55, 56] have been described as mainly related to high neuroticism and low conscientiousness. Only a few studies estimate the openness to experience—a trait which refers to cognitive curiosity and activity, imagination, sensitivity to culture and arts, and behavioural flexibility [57]—to play an important role in predicting dementia or AD.…”

Neuroticism scores increase with late‐life cognitive decline

“…While an effect of neuroticism on cognitive functioning independent of depression diagnosis has been reported (Boyle et al, ), it is possible that any associations between neuroticism and cognitive decline are mediated by depression. This could help to account for differences in the results previously reported, with depression controlled for in some studies (Donati et al, ; Mendez Rubio et al, ) but not in others (Lykou et al, ). The results of previous studies also suggest that associations between cognitive decline and neuroticism may differ for different cognitive domains, and that particular components of the neuroticism trait may be more responsible than others (Wilson et al, ; Wilson et al, ).…”

The Evolution of Personality in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…However, this is an emerging topic in AD research. Besides the progressive deterioration of cognitive functioning, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms (BPS) may be associated with current or premorbid personality characteristics, possibly also affect cognitive decline and influence how individuals with dementia cope with their difficulties [5,6]. Personality changes observed in individuals with AD have been described using the Five-Factor Model (FFM) [7 ]and include increased neuroticism, reduced extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness and no change in agreeableness compared to a control group of elderly subjects [8].…”