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Neuropsychological performance in lateralized parkinsonism
K B Spicer1, R J Roberts, P A LeWitt
1Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202.
Archives of Neurology
|April 1, 1988
Summary
Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with right-sided motor signs showed more impairment in dominant hemisphere functions. This suggests a link between motor sign lateralization and cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor function.
- Cognitive deficits, particularly visuospatial impairments, are frequently reported in PD literature.
- The relationship between motor sign lateralization and specific cognitive deficits in PD requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between the lateralization of predominant motor signs in Parkinson's disease (PD) and performance on neuropsychological tests.
- To determine if cognitive deficits are consistently observed across all PD patients or if they relate to motor symptom lateralization.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of neuropsychological test performance between two groups of right-handed PD patients: those with predominant right-sided motor signs and those with predominant left-sided motor signs.
- Objective criteria based on clinical ratings were used for group designation.
- Patient subgroups were matched for age, education, estimated premorbid IQ, motor sign severity, and medication usage.
Main Results:
- Patients with right-sided motor signs demonstrated greater impairment on tests assessing dominant hemisphere functions, including serial digit learning, confrontation naming, and verbal associative fluency.
- No significant differences in performance were observed on tests evaluating nondominant hemisphere functions, such as form sequence learning, line orientation, and facial recognition.
- These findings indicate a correlation between the lateralization of predominant motor signs and specific patterns of neuropsychological deficits.
Conclusions:
- The lateralization of predominant motor signs in Parkinson's disease correlates with specific patterns of cognitive impairment.
- Cognitive deficits, especially visuospatial impairments, are not universally present in all Parkinson's disease patients.
- This study highlights the importance of considering motor symptom lateralization when assessing cognitive function in Parkinson's disease.