Visual Selective Attention in Parkinson's Disease

Summary

Parkinson's disease (PD), which is generally considered to be a motor disorder, is now known to be accompanied in many instances by a variety of cognitive defects. This can be explained considering that PD is a neurodegenerative and progressive disorder of the basal ganglia system, which works modulating not only motor, but also cognitive and emotional behaviours.

Concerning this, some studies suggest that non-demented PD patients may suffer from a voluntary selective visual attention orienting deficit, showing a reduced skill in focusing upon one target, and may be easily distracted from irrelevant but salient stimuli, with a consequent negative impact on their physical health, social interactions and quality of life.

Up to now, the evidence of the role of the basal-ganglia system in modulating visual attention functions is poor and indirect and the effects of dopaminergic and subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation (two usual and effective treatments in PD) on attention performances are controversial.

The main objectives of the project are: 1) to assess the visual selective attention as well as the distractibility in PD patients; 2) to study the effects of patient's usual antiparkinsonian treatments, that is dopaminergic and STN stimulation, on visual attention performances.

Secondly, from a clinical and neurophysiologic point of view, the investigators want to study the respective role of the dopaminergic pathways and the sensorimotor and associative/limbic cortico-basal ganglia loops passing across the STN in the visual attention performances.

To precisely answer the objectives of the protocol, the investigators will record the performances of participants during the administration of 3 computerized tests, which are suitable to study visual attention, decision making and motor performances.

The investigators will compare the performances on the computerized tests of two groups of PD patients, one evaluated in different sets of electrical (without stimulation, or selective stimulation of the sensorimotor or associative/limbic part of the STN) stimulation, the other in different conditions of medication (with or without dopaminergic treatment) with those of a group of healthy subjects.

Conditions

• Visual Attention in Parkinson's Disease

Interventions

OTHER

Recording during computerized tests

Patients will perform more than one experimental session. In each experimental session 3 computerized tasks, which are suitable to study visual attention, decision making and motor performances will be presented. During these tests, participants have to responds the most quickly and accurately possible to the appearance on a computer display of a predetermined target stimuli, presented alone or in an array of signals. The computerized tests are administered in two different conditions of medication: with or without dopaminergic treatment, corresponding to two different experimental sessions.

OTHER

Recording during computerized tests

Patients will perform more than one experimental session. In each experimental session 3 computerized tasks, which are suitable to study visual attention, decision making and motor performances will be presented. During these tests, participants have to responds the most quickly and accurately possible to the appearance on a computer display of a predetermined target stimuli, presented alone or in an array of signals. The computerized tests are administered in three different sets of electrical (without stimulation, or selective stimulation of the sensorimotor or associative/limbic part of the subthalamic nucleus) stimulation, corresponding to three different experimental sessions.

OTHER

Recording during computerized tests

Participants will perform more than one experimental session. In each experimental session 3 computerized tasks, which are suitable to study visual attention, decision making and motor performances will be presented. During these tests, participants have to responds the most quickly and accurately possible to the appearance on a computer display of a predetermined target stimuli, presented alone or in an array of signals.The computerized tests are administered twice (in two different experimental sessions) to verify the performance repeatability.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Grenoble

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Pierre POLLAK, Professor · Unité des Troubles du Mouvement, Clinique de Neurologie, Grenoble University Hospital

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2009-10-31

Primary Completion

2010-07-31

Completion

2010-07-31

Countries

• France

Study Locations