Alzahrani, H., Antonini, A. and Venneri, A. (2016) Apathy in Mild Parkinson's Disease: Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Evidence. Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 6 (4). pp. 821-832. ISSN 1877-7171
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Apathy is one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Few studies have investigated the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of apathy in PD, and those which have done so have not controlled for the presence of other neuropsychiatric comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: To explore the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of apathy in PD at a mild disease stage. METHODS: Sixty-five PD patients and 24 healthy controls participated in this study. Patients underwent extensive neuropsychological screening, neuropsychiatric assessment using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, structural MRI scanning, and neurological examination. A voxel-based multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between grey matter volumes and apathy scores. RESULTS: Higher apathy scores correlated with lower grey matter volume in several brain areas including the left insula, left inferior/middle/medial frontal gyrus, right anterior cingulate, and the left superior temporal gyrus. Significant impairments were found in tests assessing executive functions, and a trend-level significant difference was observed in long term memory tests in patients with apathy, when compared with patients without apathy. CONCLUSIONS: Apathy was associated with greater levels of atrophy in the frontal and temporal cortex, and anterior cingulate, as well as overall lower level of cognitive performance, particularly in executive function and memory skills. Apathy appears to be associated with cognitive impairments in PD, therefore, treatment of this symptom might mitigate its effects on cognitive performance in this clinical population.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 IOS Press. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Parkinson's Disease. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Magnetic resonance imaging; cognitive impairments; executive function; neuropsychiatry |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Neuroscience (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Teaching Hospitals |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 Oct 2016 14:00 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2018 13:02 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JPD-160809 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IOS Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3233/JPD-160809 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:106079 |