Executive dysfunctions and behavioral changes in early drug-na ïve patients with Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by rest tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity and postural instability (Kalia and Lang, 2015). These motor dysfunctions of PD are associated with the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (Kalia and Lang, 2015), which contributes to a drastic reduction of dopamine in the basal ganglia, particularly the posterior putamen, at early stage of the disease. As the disease progresses, the degeneration can extend to anterior striatum, limbic nuclei and neocortical regions (Chaudhuri and Schapira, 2009), which contributes to a host of non-motor symptoms (NMSs) such as neuropsychiatric disturbances and cognitive deficits (Chaudhuri and Schapira, 2009).
Source: Journal of Affective Disorders - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Research paper Source Type: research