Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopamine dysregulation in several regions of the brain, including the striatum. Because of the intimate connections between the striatum and the frontal lobes, individuals with PD often demonstrate impairments on those tasks relying on the prefrontal cortex (e.g. tests of executive functioning). Source memory, or memory for context, is believed to rely on the prefrontal cortex and has been previously associated with executive functioning performance, although it has received little attention in the PD literature. Executive functioning and source memory were measured in a group of non-demented PD patients and healthy control participants. Within the PD group, an anti-Parkinson's medication withdrawal manipulation was used to examine whether source memory was affected by phasic changes in dopamine levels. Compared to healthy control participants, PD patients were impaired in source memory (both on and off medication) and on two composite measures of executive functioning. Within the PD group, medication administration improved motor performance but did not have a significant effect on source memory, suggesting that source memory may not rely on the dopamine system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/193711 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Kong, Lauren |
| Contributors | Glisky, Elizabeth L., Allen, John J.B., Glisky, Elizabeth L., Kaszniak, Alfred W., Allen, John J.B., Rapcsak, Steve, Bieliauskas, Linas |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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