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Facial Expression Recognition and Mirror Neurons in Parkinson's Disease

NCT01315405 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2011-03-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

After few years of evolution, patients with Parkinson's disease may develop apathy, with different degrees of severity. Apathy is characterized by a loss of interest for the others and for activities. The lack of social interactions in these patients may be due to an impairment in decoding emotional facial expression. Indeed, facial expression recognition, which is necessary to understand other's emotional state, requires a subclinical facial mimicking of the expression observed. Yet, one of the clinical signs of PD is amimia.

This study aims to determinate if there is a facial mimicry disorder in PD ( Parkinson's disease )patients with emotional facial expression (EFE) recognition impairment, compared to healthy control subjects. We also want to know if this facial mimicry disorder is primary (subtended by facial mobility impairment, that is to say amimia) or secondary (related to the mirror neuron systems that allows us to activate similar neural networks when observing and feeling a specific emotion)

Conditions

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Emotional facial expression recognition tests

20 patients with an Idiopathic Parkinson's disease \+ 20 paired healthy volunteers (on sex, age, and education) After inclusion, patients are evaluated two times: they are studied without medication (MED OFF) and with medication (STIM ON) in a randomized order. The 2 evaluations should be spaced out 15 days to one month (J0 and J+15d) Healthy subjects have only one visit J0 (inclusion and emotional facial expression recognition tests are made at the same time)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Ana MARQUES, PH · University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2010-07-31
Primary Completion
2012-12-31
Completion
2013-07-31

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01315405 on ClinicalTrials.gov