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Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: July 24, 2019
Exploring the relationship between interoception and mental body representation in Parkinson's disease
Alfonsina D'Iorio1, Chiara Alves2, Francesca Pisano2
1Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy. alfonsina.diorio@unicampania.it.
Summary
Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) show impaired mental body representation (MBR). Cognitive functions, particularly those measured by the Parkinson's Disease Cognitive Rating Scale (PD-CRS), are crucial for action-oriented MBR in PD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- Interoception involves processing internal body signals for conscious and unconscious awareness.
- Mental Body Representation (MBR) includes structural, spatial, lexical, and semantic body components, with action-oriented and non-action-oriented types.
- Previous research on interoception and MBR in Parkinson's disease (PD) is limited and shows inconsistent results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize interoceptive and MBR profiles in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- To investigate the relationship between interoception and MBR in PD patients.
- To explore the role of cognitive functions in MBR within the PD population.
Main Methods:
- A neuropsychological battery was administered to 27 PD patients and 24 healthy controls.
- Assessments included global cognitive functioning, interoceptive abilities, MBR, and mood symptoms.
- Statistical analyses included Mann-Whitney, Spearman correlations, and regression analyses.
Main Results:
- PD patients exhibited significantly poorer MBR compared to healthy controls.
- Action-oriented MBR was significantly associated with global cognitive functioning (PD-CRS).
- PD-CRS performance was a significant predictor of action-oriented MBR abilities.
Conclusions:
- Individuals with PD experience difficulties in mentally representing body features.
- Cognitive functions, involving both cortical and subcortical areas, are essential for action-oriented MBR in PD.
- Findings highlight the link between cognitive decline and body representation deficits in Parkinson's disease.
Keywords:
Action-oriented body representationInteroceptionMental body representationNon-action-oriented body representationParkinson’s diseaseMore Related Videos
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