Neurobehavioral functioning of persons with Parkinson's disease

This study examines the neurobehavioral functioning of persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) using the Neuropsychology Behavior and Affect Profile (NBAP), a self-report version of the Neurobehavioral Rating Scale (NRS-Revised), and the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). In the absence of existing data, the psychometric properties of these measures were assessed prior to examining neurobehavioral functioning. Self- and observer report versions of the NBAP, NRS-Revised, and DEX were administered to a group of 30 persons with PD and 30 matched controls. Reliability analyses revealed that, although the total scores from these measures provided internally reliable assessments of neurobehavioral functioning, the sub-scale scores of the NBAP demonstrated lower reliability. In addition, the 3 measures of neurobehavioral functioning showed moderate to high correlations with one another and with measures of disease severity. When the PD and control groups were compared on measures of current neurobehavioral functioning, the PD group was found to exhibit problems on the NRS-Revised. Since the onset of their disease, the PD group showed increasing levels of depression, inappropriate behavior, and a reduced ability to follow the subtleties of communication as measured by the NBAP. There was good agreement between self- and observer-reports of neurobehavioral functioning, suggesting that problems with insight did not affect patients' reports of symptomatology. Overall, the findings indicate the emergence of a number of neurobehavioral problems in the early stages of PD that are likely to adversely affect the social interactions of persons with PD. When combined with the motor and cognitive effects of PD, these problems may lead to social isolation.