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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Assessment of Sensorimotor Function in Mouse Models of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: June 17, 2013
Stress affects hedonic responses but not reaching-grasping in Parkinson's disease
Michael Macht1, Susanne Brandstetter, Heiner Ellgring
1University of Würzburg, Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), Marcusstrasse 9-11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany. macht@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de
Abstract:
Stress can transiently increase motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), but it is unclear whether other behavioural changes associated with PD are also affected. We found that reaching-grasping was impaired in 19 PD patients compared with 19 matched controls, but these impairments were not amplified by stress. However, patients showed a stress-induced reduction of hedonic responses. Stress may amplify those impairments in PD that are not accessible to cognitive control.
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