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Personality factors and cognitive functioning in elderly with Parkinson's disease
Neusa Maria de Oliveira Chardosim1, Camila Rosa Oliveira2, Manuela Polidoro Lima1
1Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Dementia & Neuropsychologia
|April 24, 2018
Summary
Elderly individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) show impairments in memory and executive functions. Extraversion significantly predicts performance on these cognitive tasks in PD patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neuropsychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra.
- Cognitive deficits, mood disturbances, and personality changes are frequently observed in PD patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize cognitive functioning, personality traits, and the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in individuals with PD.
- To investigate the predictive relationship between personality factors and cognitive performance in Parkinson's disease.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 30 elderly individuals with PD was assessed.
- Cognitive functions were evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, verbal fluency tests, digit span, and Boston Naming Test.
- Personality, depression, and anxiety were measured using the NEO-FFI-R, Geriatric Depression Scale, and Beck Anxiety Inventory.
Main Results:
- PD patients exhibited deficits in verbal episodic memory and executive functions.
- A majority of participants displayed low neuroticism.
- Extraversion positively correlated with executive functions, while openness to experience correlated with verbal episodic memory.
Conclusions:
- Elderly individuals with Parkinson's disease experience significant impairments in memory and executive functions.
- Extraversion emerged as the most significant predictor of cognitive performance in memory and executive function tasks for PD patients.