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Paradoxical Decision-Making: A Framework for Understanding Cognition in Parkinson's Disease
Alessandra Perugini1, Jochen Ditterich2, Aasef G Shaikh3
1Fuster Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Department of Neurobiology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, The David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Trends in Neurosciences
|May 12, 2018
Summary
Parkinson's disease (PD) impairs decision-making by hindering information accumulation, independent of dopamine. Understanding perceptual decision-making deficits may illuminate other cognitive and motor impairments in PD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Neurology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor symptoms, but cognitive impairments are increasingly recognized.
- Existing research often focuses on PD's impact on decisions involving risk and reward.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the role of perceptual decision-making deficits in understanding the multisystem nature of PD.
- To explore how studying perceptual decision-making can offer insights into broader cognitive and motor impairments in Parkinson's disease.
Main Methods:
- This opinion article reviews emerging findings in perceptual decision-making research relevant to PD.
- It proposes a framework for understanding decision-making impairments in PD.
Main Results:
- PD is associated with impaired decision-making due to an inability to accumulate sufficient sensory and memory information.
- This impairment appears distinct from dopamine levels and reinforcement learning.
Conclusions:
- Perceptual decision-making deficits underscore the multisystem nature of Parkinson's disease.
- Investigating the neural circuits of perceptual decision-making may elucidate other cognitive and motor dysfunctions in PD.