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Distinct Subtypes of Apathy Revealed by the Apathy Motivation Index

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  • Yuen-Siang Ang
  • Patricia Lockwood
  • Matthew A J Apps
  • Kinan Muhammed
  • Masud Husain

Abstract

Apathy is a debilitating but poorly understood disorder characterized by a reduction in motivation. As well as being associated with several brain disorders, apathy is also prevalent in varying degrees in healthy people. Whilst many tools have been developed to assess levels of apathy in clinical disorders, surprisingly there are no measures of apathy suitable for healthy people. Moreover, although apathy is commonly comorbid with symptoms of depression, anhedonia and fatigue, how and why these symptoms are associated is unclear. Here we developed the Apathy-Motivation Index (AMI), a brief self-report index of apathy and motivation. Using exploratory factor analysis (in a sample of 505 people), and then confirmatory analysis (in a different set of 479 individuals), we identified subtypes of apathy in behavioural, social and emotional domains. Latent profile analyses showed four different profiles of apathy that were associated with varying levels of depression, anhedonia and fatigue. The AMI is a novel and reliable measure of individual differences in apathy and might provide a useful means of probing different mechanisms underlying sub-clinical lack of motivation in otherwise healthy individuals. Moreover, associations between apathy and comorbid states may be reflective of problems in different emotional, social and behavioural domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuen-Siang Ang & Patricia Lockwood & Matthew A J Apps & Kinan Muhammed & Masud Husain, 2017. "Distinct Subtypes of Apathy Revealed by the Apathy Motivation Index," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0169938
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169938
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    Cited by:

    1. Patricia L. Lockwood & Jo Cutler & Daniel Drew & Ayat Abdurahman & Deva Sanjeeva Jeyaretna & Matthew A. J. Apps & Masud Husain & Sanjay G. Manohar, 2024. "Human ventromedial prefrontal cortex is necessary for prosocial motivation," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(7), pages 1403-1416, July.
    2. Bahaaeddin Attaallah & Pierre Petitet & Rhea Zambellas & Sofia Toniolo & Maria Raquel Maio & Akke Ganse-Dumrath & Sarosh R. Irani & Sanjay G. Manohar & Masud Husain, 2024. "The role of the human hippocampus in decision-making under uncertainty," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(7), pages 1366-1382, July.
    3. Kazuki Kaneda & Noriaki Maeda & Yuta Suzuki & Kazuki Fukui & Yukio Urabe, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life Space Extent and Apathy: A Comparison of Competitive Japanese Swimmers with and without Disabilities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-10, May.

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