The Apathy Syndrome Across Brain Disorders: Diagnosis, Neurobiological Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Strategies: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Apathy is a common, disabling, and frequently under-recognised neuropsychiatric syndrome characterised by a quantitative reduction in goal-directed behaviour, cognition, and emotional engagement. It occurs across a broad range of neurological and psychiatric disorders, yet is routinely conflated with depression, cognitive impairment, and fatigue.