Apathy and Withdrawal

Apathy is defined as the absence or lack of feeling, emotion, interest, concern, or motivation (Marin, 1991). Among psychiatric patients, apathy has been subsumed under different terms, such as psychomotor retardation, blunted or flat affect, and avolition, and often occurs in patients with schizophrenia or depression (Marin, 1991). Apathy is also common in patients with dementia (Starkstein et al., 1995), Parkinson's disease (Starkstein et al., 1992), or strokes to specific brain regions (Starkstein et al., 1993).