Parkinson's disease cognitive rehabilitation of executive functioning (PD-CoRE): A community-based intervention study

Cognitive rehabilitation has shown promise for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). PD-CoRE is a structured seven-session, group cognitive rehabilitation intervention that teaches personalized compensatory strategies to improve executive functioning in individuals with PD. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of PD-CoRE in adults with PD.

Forty-five participants with PD were administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Test of Practical Judgement (TOP-J), and self-report measures of life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy before and after participation in PD-CoRE. Pre-post changes were analyzed using paired-samples t tests. Pearson correlations and repeated-measures ANOVAs examined associations between demographic variables and intervention outcomes, with age examined as a potential moderator. Cohort effects across intervention rounds were also evaluated.

Participants demonstrated significant improvements on the MoCA (p < .001, d = 0.80), as well as in practical judgment (p = .004, d = 0.46), and depressive symptoms (p = .015, d = 0.39), after PD-CoRE. Improvements on the MoCA were moderated by age, with younger participants showing greater improvement. Changes in self-efficacy and life satisfaction trended in a positive direction but did not reach statistical significance. Age significantly moderated cognitive gains, with older participants showing smaller improvements. Post-intervention satisfaction ratings indicated high perceived benefit and acceptability.

PD-CoRE appears to be a feasible and effective cognitive rehabilitation intervention for enhancing aspects of cognition and well-being in PD. Findings support the use of structured compensatory approaches in community-based PD care and highlight the importance of considering age-related differences in treatment response.