title: Deficits on Corsi's block-tapping task in early stage Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) include disturbances in working memory. We examined sequential visuo-spatial memory span by means of an adaptation of the Corsi Block-Tapping Task in groups of medicated (n=14) and non-medicated (n=15) patients with early stage PD, and in control subjects (n=22). A deficit in memory span was found in medicated patients with early stage PD relative to controls. There were no differences between non-medicated patients relative to either controls or medicated patients. A decrease in sequential visuo-spatial memory span appears to be a relatively early feature of PD and most likely reflects executive rather than mnemonic dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Research Institute Neurosciences Vrije Universiteit, VU University Medical Center, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. d.stoffers@vumc.nl
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stoffers
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Berendse
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Deijen
authors.forename: E Ch
authors.initials: ECh
authors.lastname: Wolters
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric