Reduced daytime activity in patients with acquired brain damage and apathy: A study with ambulatory actigraphy

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Abstract
Primary objective: Apathy is difficult to assess in clinical practice. Ambulatory actigraphy was used with the aim to measure locomotor activity during the daytime as a correlate of self-initiated action in brain-damaged patients with apathy. Research design: Twenty-four patients with acquired brain damage and high levels of apathy or low levels of apathy as well as 12 healthy controls were investigated using a parallel group design. Methods and procedures: Apathy was diagnosed after clinical observation and evaluated with the apathy evaluation scale. Locomotor activity was measured with a wrist-worn actigraph over 3 days. Results: High apathy patients showed significantly reduced locomotor activity and more episodes of inactivity (naps) during the daytime. Self-rated apathy correlated with daytime activity, nap frequency and cognitive (executive) deficits. Conclusions: Ambulatory actigraphy is a promising method to evaluate self-initiated action in patients with apathy.