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Anxiety is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurring in up to 31% of the patients and affecting their quality of life. Despite the high prevalence, anxiety symptoms in PD are often underdiagnosed and, therefore, undertreated. To date, functional and structural neuroimaging studies have contributed to our understanding of the motor and cognitive symptomatology of PD. Yet, the underlying pathophysiology of anxiety symptoms in PD remains largely unknown and studies on their neural correlates are missing. Here, we used resting state electroencephalography (RS-EEG) of 68 non-demented PD patients with or without clinically-defined anxiety and 25 healthy controls (HC) to assess spectral and functional connectivity fingerprints characterizing the PD-related anxiety. When comparing the brain activity of the PD anxious group (PD-A, N=18) to both PD non-anxious (PD-NA, N=50) and HC groups (N=25) at baseline, our results showed increased fronto-parietal delta power and decreased frontal beta power depicting the PD-A group. Results also revealed hyper-connectivity networks predominating in delta, theta and gamma bands against prominent hypo-connectivity networks in alpha and beta bands as network signatures of anxiety in PD where the frontal, temporal, limbic and insular lobes exhibited the majority of significant connections. Moreover, the revealed EEG-based electrophysiological signatures were strongly associated with the clinical scores of anxiety over the course of the disease. We believe that the identification of the electrophysiological correlates of anxiety in PD using EEG is conducive toward more accurate prognosis and diagnosis and can ultimately support the development of new therapeutics strategies.

International audience; Background - Tracking longitudinal functional brain dysconnectivity in Parkinson's disease (PD) is a key element to decoding the underlying physiopathology and understanding PD progression. Objectives - The objectives of this follow-up study were to explore, for the first time, the longitudinal changes in the functional brain networks of PD patients over 5 years and to associate them with their cognitive performance and the lateralization of motor symptoms. Methods - We used a 5-year longitudinal cohort of PD patients (n = 35) who completed motor and non-motor assessments and sequent resting state (RS) high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG) recordings at three timepoints: baseline (BL), 3 years follow-up (3YFU) and 5 years follow-up (5YFU). We assessed disruptions in frequency-dependent functional networks over the course of the disease and explored their relation to clinical symptomatology. Results - In contrast with HC (n = 32), PD patients showed a gradual connectivity impairment in α2 (10-13 Hz) and β (13-30 Hz) frequency bands. The deterioration in the global cognitive assessment was strongly correlated with the disconnected networks. These disconnected networks were also associated with the lateralization of motor symptoms, revealing a dominance of the right hemisphere in terms of impaired connections in the left-affected PD patients in contrast to dominance of the left hemisphere in the right-affected PD patients. Conclusions - Taken together, our findings suggest that with disease progression, dysconnectivity in the brain networks in PD can reflect the deterioration of global cognitive deficits and the lateralization of motor symptoms. RS HD-EEG may be an early biomarker of PD motor and non-motor progression. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Objective: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with an increased risk of post-operative cognitive deterioration. Preoperative neuropsychological testing can be affected and limited by the patient’s collaboration in advanced disease. The purpose of this study was to determine whether preoperative quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) may be a useful complementary examination technique during preoperative assessment to predict cognitive changes in PD patients treated with DBS. Methods: We compared the cognitive performance of 16 PD patients who underwent bilateral subthalamic nucleus DBS to the performance of 15 PD controls (matched for age, sex, and education) at baseline and at 24 months. Cognitive scores were calculated for all patients across 5 domains. A preoperative 256-channel resting EEG was recorded from each patient. We computed the global relative power spectra. Correlation and linear regression models were used to assess associations of preoperative EEG measures with post-operative cognitive scores. Results: Slow waves (relative delta and theta band power) were negatively correlated with post-operative cognitive performance, while faster waves (alpha 1) were strongly positively correlated with the same scores (the overall cognitive score, attention, and executive function). Linear models revealed an association of delta power with the overall cognitive score (p = 0.00409, adjusted R2 = 0.6341). Verbal fluency (VF) showed a significant decline after DBS surgery, which was correlated with qEEG measures. Conclusions: To analyse the side effects after DBS in PD patients, the most important parameter is verbal fluency capacity. In addition, correlation with EEG frequency bands might be useful to detect particularly vulnerable patients for cognitive impairment and be supportive in the selection process of patients considered for DBS.

Please modify the Abstract as follows:Here we tested if the reactivity of posterior resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms from the eye-closed to the eyes-open condition may differ in patients with dementia due to Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (ADD) as a functional probe of the dominant neural synchronization mechanisms regulating the vigilance in posterior visual systems.We used clinical, demographical, and rsEEG datasets in 28 older adults (Healthy), 42 DLB, and 48 ADD participants. The eLORETA freeware was used to estimate cortical rsEEG sources.Results showed a substantial (> -10%) reduction in the posterior alpha activities during the eyes-open condition in 24 Healthy, 26 ADD, and 22 DLB subjects. There were lower reductions in the posterior alpha activities in the ADD and DLB groups than in the Healthy group. That reduction in the occipital region was lower in the DLB than in the ADD group.These results suggest that DLB patients may suffer from a greater alteration in the neural synchronization mechanisms regulating vigilance in occipital cortical systems compared to ADD patients. H2020 Marie S. Curie ITN-ETN project Italian Ministry of Health to the IRCCS SDN of Naples, IRCCS OASI of Troina, and IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana of Rome

Over the last few decades, electroencephalography (EEG) has evolved from being a method that purely relies on visual inspection into a quantitative method. Quantitative EEG, or QEEG, enables the assessment of neurological disorders based on spectral features, dynamic characterizations of EEG resting-state activity, brain connectivity analyzes or quantification of EEG signal complexity. The information contained in EEG is multidimensional: Electrodes, positioned at different scalp locations, provide a spatial dimension to the analysis of EEG while time provides a dynamic dimension: This multidimensional property of EEG makes its quantification a challenging task. In this narrative review we present quantitative models focused on different aspects of EEG: While microstate models focus more on the quantification of the dynamic aspects of EEG, spectral methods, connectivity analysis and entropy based models are more concerned with its spatial aspects. Nevertheless, these diverse approaches have provided neurophysiology based biomarkers, especially for monitoring and predicting the course of various neurodegenerative disorders. However, their translation into clinical practice crucially depends on the ability to automate the analysis of EEG in a user-friendly manner, without compromising on the validity of the provided results. Once this has been accomplished, EEG would provide an inexpensive and widely available method for monitoring disease progression, identifying patients at risk of neurodegeneration—especially before the onset of clinical symptoms, and predicting future cognition. For stratification of patients to clinical trials, EEG would allow shortening the trial duration and lowering the number of necessary participants by identifying patients at risk of fast cognitive decline.

Background: Fatigue is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is typically assessed via self-reported questionnaires such as the Parkinson’s Fatigue Scale (PFS). The PFS captures the presence of subjective experience of physical fatigue as well as its impact on daily functioning. Objectives: We aimed to investigate whether different variables (cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, disease-related measures) are associated with the experience of physical fatigue in comparison to fatigue affecting daily functioning. Method: Sixty-two non-demented PD patients were evaluated through questionnaires assessing fatigue, daytime sleepiness, apathy, depression, anxiety, and cognition. Items of fatigue were classified and summarized into two index variables measuring either the subjective experience of physical fatigue or the impact of fatigue on daily functioning. Linear regression with a stepwise elimination procedure was conducted to select the significant predictors for each index variable separately. Results: Subjective experience of physical fatigue (Model 1; r2 = 0.46; p <0.01) was significantly associated with higher levels of depression (b =0.07; p <0.01), anxiety (b =0.03; p <0.05), and lower performances in verbal episodic memory (b =–0.16; p <0.05). Fatigue affecting daily functioning (Model 2; r2 = 0.44; p <0.05) was significantly related to higher levels of depression (b = 0.07; p < 0.01), anxiety (b = 0.03; p > 0.05), and lower motor functioning (b = 0.01; p = 0.05). Conclusions: In conclusion, our work supports associations between fatigue and other neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD and extends prior work suggesting that motor disturbances are specifically linked to fatigue-related impairment of daily functioning, but not to the subjective experience of physical fatigue.

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare 2 different rhythmic, high-intensive interventions, that is, rhythmic speech-language therapy (rSLT) versus rhythmic balance-mobility training (rBMT), against a no-therapy (NT) condition in patients with Parkinson’s disease and against healthy controls (HCs) with regard to the change in or enhancement of cognitive abilities. Methods: The 4 groups (rSLT: N = 16; rBMT: N = 10; NT: N = 18; and HC: N = 17) were matched for age, sex, and educational level and were tested in 6 cognitive domains: working memory, executive function, visuo-construction, episodic memory, attention, and word retrieval. Assessments took place at baseline, at 4 weeks (T1), and at 6 months (T2). Rhythmic interventions were provided 3 times per week for 4 weeks in total. To analyze true intervention effects between groups and across time, statistical analyses included reliable change index. Intergroup differences were assessed with multivariate assessment of variance, while differences within groups were assessed with 95% confidence intervals of mean difference. Results: The rSLT improved working memory and word retrieval (p < 0.05), possibly a beneficial transfer effect of the training method per se. In contrast, the NT group worsened in phonemic and semantic shifting (p < 0.01). Observed improvements in flexibility and in episodic memory in the HC may be linked to training effects of retesting. Conclusions: Rhythmic cues are resistant to neurodegeneration and have a strong motivating factor. As thus, these may facilitate high-intensive and demanding training. Although both trainings were superior to NT, the improvement of cognitive abilities depends on the specific training method. Further, therapy may be more effective when delivered by a therapist rather than by an impersonal computer program.

Introduction. According to the Dual Syndrome Hypothesis cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients can be divided into two subtypes: The frontal type versus the posterior type. The risk of progression to PD dementia was described to be higher in patients initially presenting with posterior deficits. Additionally, cognitive impairment in PD is related to slowing of EEG background activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between different cognitive subtypes and qEEG measures in PD-patients. Methods. Fifty-nine PD-patients completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery covering five cognitive domains (Executive Function, Episodic Memory, Attention, Visuo-Spatial Ability, Language). Additionally, a 256-resting-state EEG was recorded. For statistics, Principal Component Analysis was calculated to group the neuropsychological measures into independent factors. Factor scores were further correlated with qEEG power spectra through Pearson“s correlation. Results. From screeplot two factors were derived. Factor 1 consisted of tests measuring constructional praxis, visuo-episodic memory as well as Stroop interference. Factor 2 consisted of tests assessing executive functions, attention, verbal-episodic memory and language. Pearson's correlation with qEEG measures and Factor 2 showed significant positive correlations with Global Alpha_2 Power (10–13 Hz; r = 0.35, p Conclusion. From Principal Component analysis two factors were derived of our comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. In our sample, fronto-temporal associated neuropsychological measures were meaningfully correlated with qEEG power spectra. In a further step, correlation with connectivity measures of the qEEG power spectra could allow a closer insight into underlying network dynamics.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether the combination of two parameters: (a) score of axial impairment and limb rigidity (SAILR) with (b) EEG global relative median power in the frequency range theta 4–8 Hz (GRMPT) predicted cognitive outcome in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) better than each of these measures alone. Methods: 47 non-demented patients with PD were examined and re-examined after 3 years. At both time-points, the patients underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological and neurological assessment and EEG in eyes-closed resting-state condition. The results of cognitive tests were normalized and individually summarized to obtain a “global cognitive score” (GCS). Change of GCS was used to represent cognitive changes over time. GRMPT and SAILR was used for further analysis. Linear regression models were calculated. Results: GRMPT and SAILR independently predicted cognitive change. Combination of GRMPT and SAILR improved the significance of the regression model as compared to using each of these measures alone. GRMPT and SAILR only slightly correlate between each other. Conclusion: The combination of axial signs and rigidity with quantitative EEG improves early identification of patients with PD prone to severe cognitive decline. GRMPT and SAILR seem to reflect different disease mechanisms. Significance Combination of EEG and axial motor impairment assessment may be a valuable marker in the cognitive prognosis of PD.

Objective: Here we tested if cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms may differ in sub-groups of patients with prodromal and overt dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) as a function of relevant clinical symptoms.Methods: We extracted clinical, demographic and rsEEG datasets in matched DLB patients (N = 60) and control Alzheimer's disease (AD, N = 60) and healthy elderly (Nold, N = 60) seniors from our international database. The eLORETA freeware was used to estimate cortical rsEEG sources.Results: As compared to the Nold group, the DLB and AD groups generally exhibited greater spatially distributed delta source activities (DLB > AD) and lower alpha source activities posteriorly (AD > DLB). As compared to the DLB ``controls", the DLB patients with (1) rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorders showed lower central alpha source activities (p < 0.005); (2) greater cognitive deficits exhibited higher parietal and central theta source activities as well as higher central, parietal, and occipital alpha source activities (p < 0.01); (3) visual hallucinations pointed to greater parietal delta source activities (p < 0.005).Conclusions: Relevant clinical features were associated with abnormalities in spatial and frequency features of rsEEG source activities in DLB patients.Significance: Those features may be used as neurophysiological surrogate endpoints of clinical symptoms in DLB patients in future cross-validation prospective studies. Ministry of Health, Italy; H2020 Marie S. Curie ITN-ETN project; H2020-TWINN-2015 project

Background. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with cognitive decline, progressing from subjective memory complaints (SMC) via mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. SMC are only measurable by an interview and thus rely on individuals reporting a subjectively perceived worsening of cognitive functioning. Cognitive decline is accompanied by a reduction in quality of life (QoL); however, the extent to which SMC manifest a reduction of QoL remains unclear. Objective. To determine the association between SMC and deterioration of QoL in patients suffering from PD. Methods. A total of 46 cognitively unimpaired PD patients (29 men and 17 women) completed PDQ-39, two assessments to measure SMC (Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and a Self-Assessment questionnaire), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Multiple regression modelling was conducted to investigate the confounding effect of depression and anxiety. Results. The PDQ-39 domain cognitions, but not the PDQ-39 sum score, correlated significantly with the SMC Self-Assessment questionnaire (r = 0.57; p<0.001). The conducted regression model indicates a significant confounding effect of depression and anxiety (p<0.001, R2 = 0.55). Conclusion. In our study, SMC is significantly related to a reduction of cognitive QoL. In addition, we observed significant relation to anxiety and depression levels. In contrast to our main hypothesis, we found no association with overall QoL; this lack of association could be due to unstandardized questionnaires and emphasizes the need of validated tools for evaluating SMC.

Compared with Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) shows peculiar clinical manifestations related to vigilance (i.e., executive cognitive deficits and visual hallucinations) that may be reflected in resting-state electroencephalographic rhythms. To test this hypothesis, clinical and resting-state electroencephalographic rhythms in age-, sex-, and education-matched PD patients (N = 136) and Alzheimer's disease patients (AD, N = 85), and healthy older participants (Nold, N = 65), were available from an international archive. Electroencephalographic sources were estimated by eLORETA software. The results are as follows: (1) compared to the Nold participants, the AD and PD patients showed higher widespread delta source activities (PD > AD) and lower posterior alpha source activities (AD > PD); (2) the PD patients with the most pronounced motor deficits exhibited very low alpha source activities in widespread cortical regions; (3) the PD patients with the strongest cognitive deficits showed higher alpha source activities in widespread cortical regions; and (4) compared to the PD patients without visual hallucinations, those with visual hallucinations were characterized by higher posterior alpha sources activities. These results suggest that in PD patients resting in quiet wakefulness, abnormalities in cortical neural synchronization at alpha frequencies are differently related to cognitive, motor, and visual hallucinations. Interestingly, parallel PD neuropathological processes may have opposite effects on cortical neural synchronization mechanisms generating cortical alpha rhythms in quiet wakefulness. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Marlon O Pflueger,1 Pasquale Calabrese,2 Erich Studerus,3 Ronan Zimmermann,4 Ute Gschwandtner,4 Stefan Borgwardt,5 Jacqueline Aston,3 Rolf-Dieter Stieglitz,6 Anita Riecher-Rössler3 1Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Basel Psychiatric Clinics, Basel, Switzerland; 2Division of Molecular andCognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 3Center for Gender Research and Early Detection, University of Basel Psychiatric Hospital, Basel, Switzerland; 4Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 5Department of Psychiatry (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 6Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Background: Episodic memory encoding and working memory (WM) deficits are among the first cognitive signs and symptoms in the course of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, it is not clear whether the deficit pattern is generalized or specific in nature. We hypothesized that encoding deficits at an early stage of the disease might be due to the more fundamental WM deficits. Methods: We examined episodic memory encoding and WM by administering the California Verbal Learning Test, a 2-back task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in 90 first-episode psychosis (FE) patients and 116 individuals with an at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS) compared to 57 healthy subjects. Results: Learning progress, but not span of apprehension, was diminished to a similar extent in both the ARMS and the FE. We showed that this was due to WM impairment by applying a structural equation approach. Conclusion: Thus, we conclude that verbal memory encoding deficits are secondary to primary WM impairment in emerging psychosis. Keywords: at-risk mental state, first-episode psychosis, cognition, serial position effect, recency, semantic cluster ratio, 2-back task, rate of learning

Objective. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) improve motor functioning in Parkinson“s disease patients– Additionally it can also influence cognitive functioning. In most patients, a decline of verbal fluency test performance after STN-DBS is often reported. The purpose of this study was to determine whether preoperative quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) may be useful in the preoperative assessment predicting cognitive changes in PD patients treated with STN-DBS. Methods. We compared the cognitive performance of 16 PD patients who underwent bilateral STN-DBS and 15 PD controls (matched for age, sex and education) at baseline as well as after 24 months. Cognitive scores were calculated for all patients across 5 cognitive domains covered by different cognitive tests (attention, executive function, episodic & working memory, verbal fluency, visuo-construction). A preoperative 256-channels EEG was recorded of each patient at rest and global relative power spectra were computed. Correlation and linear regression models were used to assess the association of preoperative EEG measures with postoperative cognitive scores in stimulated PD patients compared to PD controls. Results. The decline of verbal fluency performance after two years in the PD group treated with STN-DBS was significant in comparison to the PD controls (p Conclusion. Consistent with the results of former studies, STN stimulation deteriorates verbal fluency in the course of two years. Accordingly, we observed significant decline in tests measuring verbal fluency in the group of PD patients treated with STN-DBS compared to a control group of PD patients. The decline of verbal fluency performance could be predicted by a reduced theta power at baseline. No other significant differences in cognitive alterations between patients in the STN-DBS group and the PD control group occur over two years.

Introduction. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson“s disease (PD) has been recognized as a transitional state between normal cognition (PD-NC) and overt dementia (PD-D) and is associated with an increased risk of conversion toward PD-D. In a cross-sectional setting the combination of spectral band power and signal complexity for use as a diagnostic biomarker for assessing MCI in early stages of PD is evaluated. Patients & Methods. 30 PD-NC individuals (13 females, medians: age 67.5 yrs., edu. 14 yrs., UPDRS 16, LED 507.5, disease duration 33 mos.) were compared with 9 individuals diagnosed with PD-MCI matched for age, sex and education (4 females, medians: age 66.0 yrs., edu 16 yrs., UPDRS 15, LED 770.0, disease duration 40 mos.). High-density EEG recordings were obtained during eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) condition. Signal complexity, quantified based on Tsallis entropy (TE) [1], as well as relative band power (rBP) were evaluated for the delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma band. For all bands and conditions, the Pearson correlation between TE and rBP was calculated for each individual. The resulting correlation scores were then compared across groups according to an individuals“ diagnosis. Results. TE and rBP analyzed independently, showed no significant differences between PD-NC and PD-MCI. However, in combination, significant differences were observed: Compared to PD-NC, most patients with PD-MCI showed significantly higher correlation of TE and rBP in both the alpha band (8-13Hz) in EO condition as well as the beta band (13-30Hz) in EC condition. The corrected p-values in both cases were p Conclusion/Discussion. In conclusion, signal complexity and relative band power provide, in combination, a candidate diagnostic biomarker for MCI in PD. Higher correlation in case of PD-MCI indicates a reduced ability of the cortex to modify signal complexity independently of relative band power. The results apply to groups, and may help to define study populations for clinical trials, but cannot be applied in their present form for individual treatment decisions or counselling. Reference [1] Sneddon R. The Tsallis entropy of natural information. Physica A Statistical and Theoretical Physics 2007; 386: 101–118. Fig. 1.

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) ameliorates motor function in patients with Parkinson's disease and allows reducing dopaminergic therapy. Beside effects on motor function STN-DBS influences many non-motor symptoms, among which decline of verbal fluency test performance is most consistently reported. The surgical procedure itself is the likely cause of this decline, while the influence of the electrical stimulation is still controversial. STN-DBS also produces widespread changes of cortical activity as visualized by quantitative EEG. The present study aims to link an alteration in verbal fluency performance by electrical stimulation of the STN to alterations in quantitative EEG.Methods: Sixteen patients with STN-DBS were included. All patients had a high density EEG recording (256 channels) while testing verbal fluency in the stimulator on/off situation. The phonemic, semantic, alternating phonemic and semantic fluency was tested (Regensburger Wortflüssigkeits-Test).Results: On the group level, stimulation of STN did not alter verbal fluency performance. EEG frequency analysis showed an increase of relative alpha2 (10–13 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) power in the parieto-occipital region (p ≤ 0.01). On the individual level, changes of verbal fluency induced by stimulation of the STN were disparate and correlated inversely with delta power in the left temporal lobe (p < 0.05).Conclusion: STN stimulation does not alter verbal fluency performance in a systematic way at group level. However, when in individual patients an alteration of verbal fluency performance is produced by electrical stimulation of the STN, it correlates inversely with left temporal delta power.

Orjinal Makale: Functional cortical source connectivity of resting state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms shows similar abnormalities in patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. 129(4), 766-782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2018.01.009

WOS: 000465302200012 PubMed ID: 30797169 Previous evidence has shown different resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic delta (

WOS: 000450412900002 PubMed ID: 30312790 We hypothesized that dopamine neuromodulation might affect cortical excitability in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients set in quiet wakefulness, as revealed by resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms at alpha frequencies (8-12 Hz). Clinical and rsEEG rhythms in PD with dementia (N = 35), PD with mild cognitive impairment (N = 50), PD with normal cognition (N = 35), and normal (N = 50) older adults were available from an international archive. Cortical rsEEG sources were estimated by exact low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography. Compared with the normal older group, the PD groups showed reduced occipital alpha sources and increased widespread delta (

Objectives To identify quantitative EEG frequency and connectivity features (Phase Lag Index) characteristic of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and to investigate if these features correlate with cognitive measures of the patients. Methods We recorded EEG data for a group of PD patients with MCI (n = 27) and PD patients without cognitive impairment (n = 43) using a high-resolution recording system. The EEG files were processed and 66 frequency along with 330 connectivity (phase lag index, PLI) measures were calculated. These measures were used to classify MCI vs. MCI-free patients. We also assessed correlations of these features with cognitive tests based on comprehensive scores (domains). Results PLI measures classified PD-MCI from non-MCI patients better than frequency measures. PLI in delta, theta band had highest importance for identifying patients with MCI. Amongst cognitive domains, we identified the most significant correlations between Memory and Theta PLI, Attention and Beta PLI. Conclusion PLI is an effective quantitative EEG measure to identify PD patients with MCI. Significance We identified quantitative EEG measures which are important for early identification of cognitive decline in PD.

Ziel der Studie: Validierung der deutschsprachigen Version der Checkliste zur Erfassung neuropsychiatrischer Symptome bei der Parkinsonerkrankung (CENS-PE) von Martinez-Martin et al. (2012). Methodik: Die CENS-PE wurde an insgesamt 96 Patienten mit Parkinsonerkrankung (PE) (Alter: 65,3 Jahre ± 9,6, 29 Frauen) evaluiert. Die Checkliste umfasst 12 Items, die in die drei Domanen psychotische Symptome, Stimmung/Apathie und Storung der Impulskontrolle unterteilt sind. In mehreren statistischen Analysen wurde die Item- und Reliabilitatsanalyse durchgefuhrt und die Validitat uberpruft. Ergebnisse: Die untersuchten Patienten mit PE wiesen leichte neuropsychiatrische Symptome auf. Die drei Domanen konnten mit der Hauptkomponentenanalyse identifiziert werden. Die Items der Stimmung/Apathie-Domane erwiesen sich als homogen und trennscharf, die interne Konsistenz war akzeptabel. Fur die Domanen psychotische Symptome und Storung der Impulskontrolle waren die Kennwerte nur teilweise ausreichend. Die Checkliste erwies sich als konvergenz-, diskriminanz- und konstruktvalide. Schlussfolgerung: Die deutsche Ubersetzung der CENS-PE ist gesamthaft hinreichend reliabel und valide, um im deutschen Sprachraum eingesetzt zu werden. Die Domanen psychotische Symptome und Storung der Impulskontrolle konnen aufgrund der geringen Anzahl gemessener Symptome in diesem Bereich nur limitiert beurteilt werden.

Nichtmotorische Symptome bei Patienten mit Morbus Parkinson (MP) stosen zunehmend auf das Interesse der Forschung. Insbesondere psychische Erkrankungen wie Angst und Depression bei Patienten mit MP beziehen Fachleute oft nicht ins Diagnoseverfahren mit ein, obwohl die Pravalenzrate hoch ist. Fur eine umfassende Behandlung des Gesundheitszustands dieser Patientengruppe sind eine adaquate Diagnose und eine entsprechende Therapie notwendig. Die Kognitive Verhaltenstherapie (KVT) hat sich bislang als eines der effizientesten Therapieverfahren zur Behandlung von Angst und Depression erwiesen. Sowohl im Einzel- als auch im Gruppensetting hat sich die KVT bewahrt. In dieser Ubersicht werden zehn Studien einander gegenubergestellt und diskutiert, die die KVT bei Parkinsonpatienten mit Angst und Depression untersucht haben. In acht Studien fand eine Einzeltherapie statt. Darin enthalten sind drei Einzelfallstudien, drei Studien ohne Kontrollgruppe und zwei kontrollierte randomisierte Studien. Zwei Interventionen fanden ausschlieslich am Telefon statt. In zwei Studien wurde eine Gruppentherapie durchgefuhrt. Eine davon erfolgte mit einer Kontrollgruppe. Es gibt Hinweise, dass sowohl die depressiven Symptome der Patienten mit MP nach einer KVT abnahmen als auch die Angst. Kontrollierte randomisierte Designs zu dieser Frage sind selten. Die Wirksamkeit der Gruppentherapie sollte besser erforscht werden, um eine effiziente Behandlung anbieten zu konnen, die die speziellen Umstande von Parkinsonpatienten berucksichtigt.