Linguistic correlates of asymmetric motor symptom severity in Parkinson's Disease.
Asymmetric motor severity is common in Parkinson's Disease (PD) and provides a method for examining the neurobiologic mechanisms underlying cognitive and linguistic deficits associated with the disorder. In the present research, PD participants (N=31) were assessed in terms of the asymmetry of their motor symptoms. Interviews with the participants were analyzed with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) program. Three measures of linguistic complexity - the proportion of verbs, proportion of function words, and sentence length - were found to be affected by symptom asymmetry. Greater left-side motor severity (and hence greater right-hemisphere dysfunction) was associated with the production of significantly fewer verbs, function words, and shorter sentences. Hence, the production of linguistic complexity in a natural language context was associated with relatively greater right hemisphere involvement. The potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying this effect are discussed.
Holtgraves
Thomas
T
Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA. 00t0holtgrav@bsu.edu
McNamara
Patrick
P
Cappaert
Kevin
K
Durso
Raymond
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013060:Speech