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Ifyour dad used to love Sarah Silverman or Bill Hicks—but now isn’t picking up on their sarcastic humor—it may be an early sign of dementia, finds new research from the University of California, San Francisco.
But that isn’t all: Recent studies reveal early dementia cues that have little to do with actual memory loss. Could your mom, dad, or grandparent be headed for brain trouble? Could you? Here are 4 surprising signs.
Can’t Detect Lies or Sarcasm
If your once quick-witted father isn’t picking up on your sarcastic jokes anymore, it might be a telltale sign of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In FTD, the part of the brain that understands complex emotions goes offline, explains says Kate Rankin, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at UCSF Memory and Aging Center. “People with FTD can pay attention and stay focused, but they don’t catch that somebody is trying to deceive them, which puts them in danger of falling for scams,” she says.
In a recent study, Rankin’s team asked 175 people to detect lies, sarcasm, and honesty in videos. Both healthy subjects and people with Alzheimer’s disease could tell the difference, but FTD patients couldn’t.
Isn’t Embarrassed
Another study observed 79 older people watching themselves sing the 1964 classic “My Girl” by the Temptations. Healthy adults reacted as you’d expect: Their blood pressure went up and their heart rate increased. Those with FTD, though, seemed indifferent and weren’t embarrassed.
Embarrassment is a complex emotion like pride and guilt, explains Virginia Sturm, postdoctoral fellow at UCSF who presented the research. This is compared to a low level emotion like fear, which is almost like a reflex.
Doesn’t Show Empathy
Another subtle sign of dementia, according to previous research, is a gradual decline in empathy. Like not being able to read somebody’s facial cues for lying, an older adult who can’t understand another person needs comfort or help is a signal.
Makes Racist or Sexist Comments
Rankin says other signs include saying really rude, racist, or sexist things that wouldn’t have been said in the past. FTD patients lose that filter that tells them it’s inappropriate
But that isn’t all: Recent studies reveal early dementia cues that have little to do with actual memory loss. Could your mom, dad, or grandparent be headed for brain trouble? Could you? Here are 4 surprising signs.
Can’t Detect Lies or Sarcasm
If your once quick-witted father isn’t picking up on your sarcastic jokes anymore, it might be a telltale sign of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In FTD, the part of the brain that understands complex emotions goes offline, explains says Kate Rankin, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at UCSF Memory and Aging Center. “People with FTD can pay attention and stay focused, but they don’t catch that somebody is trying to deceive them, which puts them in danger of falling for scams,” she says.
In a recent study, Rankin’s team asked 175 people to detect lies, sarcasm, and honesty in videos. Both healthy subjects and people with Alzheimer’s disease could tell the difference, but FTD patients couldn’t.
Isn’t Embarrassed
Another study observed 79 older people watching themselves sing the 1964 classic “My Girl” by the Temptations. Healthy adults reacted as you’d expect: Their blood pressure went up and their heart rate increased. Those with FTD, though, seemed indifferent and weren’t embarrassed.
Embarrassment is a complex emotion like pride and guilt, explains Virginia Sturm, postdoctoral fellow at UCSF who presented the research. This is compared to a low level emotion like fear, which is almost like a reflex.
Doesn’t Show Empathy
Another subtle sign of dementia, according to previous research, is a gradual decline in empathy. Like not being able to read somebody’s facial cues for lying, an older adult who can’t understand another person needs comfort or help is a signal.
Makes Racist or Sexist Comments
Rankin says other signs include saying really rude, racist, or sexist things that wouldn’t have been said in the past. FTD patients lose that filter that tells them it’s inappropriate