title: Motor asymmetry and estimation of body-scaled aperture width in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: The present study examined how asymmetrical motor symptomatology helps predict the pattern of perceptual judgements of body-scaled aperture width in lateralised Parkinson's disease (PD). Eleven patients with PD predominantly affecting the left side of their body (LPD), 16 patients with PD predominantly affecting their right side (RPD), and 16 healthy controls made forced-choice judgements about whether or not they would fit without turning their shoulders through a life-sized schematic doorway shown on a large screen. Whereas control and LPD groups made accurate estimations of body-scaled aperture width, RPD patients significantly underestimated aperture width relative to their body, perceiving doorways on average that were 12% narrower than their bodies as wide enough to allow them to pass through without rotation. Across all patients, estimates of body-scaled aperture width correlated with ratio of right-to-left symptom severity. These perceptual errors may indicate a mismatch between the neural representation of external space and that of body size in PD.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, UK.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ewins
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Kean
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents