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51/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 51 out of 100. Mild cognitive impairment

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Emotional changes are common in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Intrinsic connectivity imaging studies suggest that default mode network degradation in AD is accompanied by the release of an emotion-relevant salience network. We investigated whether emotional contagion, an evolutionarily conserved affect-sharing mechanism, is higher in MCI and AD secondary to biological alterations in neural networks that support emotion. We measured emotional contagion in 237 participants (111 healthy controls, 62 patients with MCI, and 64 patients with AD) with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Personal Distress subscale. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Geriatric Depression Scale. Participants underwent structural MRI, and voxel-based morphometry was used to relate whole-brain maps to emotional contagion. Analyses of covariance found significantly higher emotional contagion at each stage of disease progression [controls < MCI (P < 0.01) and MCI < AD (P < 0.001)]. Depressive symptoms were also higher in patients compared with controls [controls < MCI (P < 0.01) and controls < AD (P < 0.0001)]. Higher emotional contagion (but not depressive symptoms) was associated with smaller volume in right inferior, middle, and superior temporal gyri (PFWE < 0.05); right temporal pole, anterior hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus; and left middle temporal gyrus (all P < 0.001, uncorrected). These findings suggest that in MCI and AD, neurodegeneration of temporal lobe structures important for affective signal detection and emotion inhibition are associated with up-regulation of emotion-generating mechanisms. Emotional contagion, a quantifiable index of empathic reactivity that is present in other species, may be a useful tool with which to study emotional alterations in animal models of AD.

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APA 7th

Sturm, V. E., Yokoyama, J. S., Seeley, W. W., Kramer, J. H., Miller, B. L., & Rankin, K. P. (2013). Heightened emotional contagion in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease is associated with temporal lobe degeneration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1301119110

Vancouver

Sturm VE, Yokoyama JS, Seeley WW, Kramer JH, Miller BL, Rankin KP. Heightened emotional contagion in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease is associated with temporal lobe degeneration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013. doi:10.1073/pnas.1301119110. PMID: 23716653.

BibTeX

@article{sturm2013-23716653,
  author  = {Sturm, V. E. and Yokoyama, J. S. and Seeley, W. W. and Kramer, J. H. and Miller, B. L. and Rankin, K. P.},
  title   = {{Heightened emotional contagion in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease is associated with temporal lobe degeneration}},
  journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  year    = {2013},
  doi     = {10.1073/pnas.1301119110},
  pmid    = {23716653},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1301119110}
}

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Key findings

Intrinsic connectivity imaging studies suggest that default mode network degradation in AD is accompanied by the release of an emotion-relevant salience network.
Analyses of covariance found significantly higher emotional contagion at each stage of disease progression [controls < MCI (P < 0.01) and MCI < AD (P < 0.001)].
Depressive symptoms were also higher in patients compared with controls [controls < MCI (P < 0.01) and controls < AD (P < 0.0001)].
Higher emotional contagion (but not depressive symptoms) was associated with smaller volume in right inferior, middle, and superior temporal gyri (PFWE < 0.05); right temporal pole, anterior hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus; and left middle temporal gyrus (all P < 0.001, uncorrected).
These findings suggest that in MCI and AD, neurodegeneration of temporal lobe structures important for affective signal detection and emotion inhibition are associated with up-regulation of emotion-generating mechanisms.

Why it matters

In 237 participants, emotional contagion was higher at each stage from healthy controls to mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease, and higher emotional contagion was associated with smaller volume in several temporal lobe regions. This is an observational study of emotional and brain changes and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

Study details

Participants237
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 51/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: journal h-index 1,167 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	237 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 173 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	11.5 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 9.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 31 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Katherine P. Rankin: h-index 69 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23716653)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	51 / 100	—

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