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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Rating L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesias in the Unilaterally 6-OHDA-Lesioned Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 4, 2021
[Impaired recognition of emotion improved by L-DOPA in a patient with amygdala damage]
Tatsuya Sato1, Nobuyoshi Takahashi, Mitsuru Kawamura
1Department of Neurology, Showa University School of Medicine.
Abstract:
We examined the effect of levodopa (L-DOPA) in a patient with a lesion of the amygdala and impaired recognition of emotion. Before L-DOPA, recognition of fear and disgust was significantly impaired compared to recognition scores in controls. After receiving L-DOPA, the patient showed normal recognition of fear and disgust. After the drug wore off, recognition declined to her initial unmedicated performance. We hypothesized that L-DOPA may have activated dopaminergic systems involved in recognition of emotion such as the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, compensating for the amygdala dysfunction. Alternatively. L-DOPA may have activated intact portions of the amygdala.
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