Reaction time and vigilance in Parkinson's disease. Possible role of altered norepinephrine metabolism
Y. Stern, R. Mayeux and L. Cote
Delayed reaction time and diminished vigilance have been observed in
Parkinson's disease (PD) but have not been related to biochemical changes
in the disease. As norepinephrine is reduced in the brain in PD and this
neurotransmitter has been related to attention and learning, we
investigated the relationship of neuropsychological measures, including
those of reaction time and vigilance, to the norepinephrine metabolite
3-methoxy - 4 - hydroxyphenethyleneglycol (MHPG) in 39 patients with
idiopathic PD. The MHPG levels correlated with a measure of general
intellectual ability and with performance on reaction time and continuous
performance tasks. Our data suggest that altered norepinephrine metabolism
may contribute to some aspects of intellectual dysfunction in PD.
