Inability to discern sarcasm and identify lies are linked to early stages of certain types of dementia, according to a new study from the University of California at San Francisco

UCSF neuropsychologist Katherine Rankin, PhD, a member of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, presented the results of the study last week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

NBC reported that Dr. Rankin and her team used magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, to show the connection between brain deterioration in isolated parts of the organ and the inability to distinguish sarcasm from definitive statements that are true.

Rankin's study is only one of the many subjects being tackled at UCSF's Aging Center that are linking social interaction and emotional reactions to certain degenerative brain diseases. It is an ongoing effort to devise methods that will detect early warning signs of certain types of dementia and brain disorders.

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MRI was used to map the brains of the subjects in the study and measure the sizes of certain brain regions that correlated with the inability to detect sarcasm or lying. Gullibility in older people, as Rankin pointed out leaves them particularly vulnerable to fraud-based crimes. Her bottom line was, "If somebody has strange behavior and they stop understanding things like sarcasm and lies, they should see a specialist who can make sure this is not the start of one of these diseases."