title: The relationship between executive function and verbal memory in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that the various cognitive symptoms found in Parkinson's disease (PD) are secondary to executive dysfunction. Studies addressing this possibility for memory impairment specifically have not included measures of working memory nor have they ruled-out potential mediating variables such as overall level of cognitive impairment or depression. The purpose of this study was to include measures of these variables in determining the relationship between multiple aspects of executive function and delayed verbal recall in 32 idiopathic PD patients. Results were consistent with the original hypothesis and further suggest that working memory is a key factor in recall memory and may mediate the relationship between other executive measures and recall in PD.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. cihigginson@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Christopher I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Higginson
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Vicki L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Wheelock
authors.forename: Nuny O
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Khamphay
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sigvardt
mesh_terms: D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014825:Vocabulary