Neuropsychological Characteristics and Their Association with Higher-Level Functional Capacity in Parkinson's Disease.
OBJECTIVE
Little is known about the relationship between cognitive functions and higher-level functional capacity (e.g. intellectual activity, social role, and social participation) in Parkinson's disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to clarify neuropsychological characteristics and their association with higher-level functional capacity in PD patients.


METHODS
Participants were 31 PD patients and 23 demographically matched healthy controls. Neuropsychological tests were conducted. One year later, a questionnaire survey evaluated higher-level functional capacity in daily living.


RESULTS
The PD group scored significantly lower than the control group in all cognitive domains, particularly executive function and processing. Executive function, processing speed, language, and memory were significantly correlated with higher-level functional capacity in PD patients. Stepwise regression showed that only executive function (Trail Making Test-B), together with disease severity (HY stage), predicted the higher-level functional capacity.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings provide evidence of a relationship between executive function and higher-level functional capacity in patients with PD.
Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Japan ; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Toyama, Japan.
Kayoko
K
Miura
Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Japan.
Mie
M
Matsui
Department of Neurology, Toyama University Hospital, Toyama, Japan.
Shutaro
S
Takashima
Department of Neurology, Toyama University Hospital, Toyama, Japan.
Kortaro
K
Tanaka
Cognitive function; Higher-level functional capacity; Intellectual activity; Neuropsychological characteristics; Parkinson's disease; Social identity; Social participation