APATHY

Apathy is a clinical syndrome characterised by a reduction in self-initiated, goal-directed activity, which is not driven by primary motor or sensory impairments, or other co-morbidities such as drug intoxication or intercurrent illness.

Apathy is not a unitary syndrome, and can be manifest across different dimensions/Behavior, Cognition, ’Emotion, and event social social activities or interactions. This reduction in activity must represent a significant decline relative to the patient’s previous level of functioning.

On this page it is possible to find the diagnostic criteria for apathy as well as various assessment instruments.