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Saccadic Direction Errors are Associated with Impulsive Compulsive Behaviours in Parkinson's Disease Patients
Pedro Barbosa1,2, Diego Kaski3,4, Patricia Castro5
1Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Journal of Parkinson'S Disease
|July 9, 2019
Summary
Impulsive compulsive behaviours in Parkinson's disease (PD+ICB) are linked to distinct saccadic abnormalities. These findings suggest saccadic testing could help identify patients at risk for developing ICBs.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Neurology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder.
- Impulsive compulsive behaviours (ICBs) are a significant non-motor symptom in PD.
- The underlying neural mechanisms of ICBs in PD are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if impulsive compulsive behaviours (ICBs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) are associated with specific saccadic abnormalities.
- To compare saccadic performance between PD patients with ICBs (PD+ICB), PD patients without ICBs (PD-ICB), and healthy controls (HC).
Main Methods:
- A pro-saccades and an anti-saccades task were administered to three groups: PD+ICB (n=15), PD-ICB (n=15), and HC (n=15).
- Saccadic metrics including saccade length and direction errors were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Patients with PD+ICB exhibited shorter saccade lengths compared to HC.
- PD+ICB patients demonstrated a higher number of direction errors during the anti-saccades task than both PD-ICB and HC groups.
- These results indicate impaired ability to suppress automatic saccades in PD patients with ICBs.
Conclusions:
- Saccadic abnormalities, particularly in the anti-saccades task, are associated with impulsive compulsive behaviours in Parkinson's disease.
- Saccadic assessment may serve as a potential biomarker for identifying PD patients at risk of developing ICBs.
- This could inform future therapeutic strategies and patient management.