title: Cortical thickness changes in patients with Parkinson's disease and impulse control disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate gray matter (GM) and cortical thickness (CTh) changes in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with and without Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen patients with PD with ICDs (ICD+), 15 patients with PD without ICDs (ICD-) and 24 age and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in the study. Patients were screened for ICDs by the Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview (MIDI) and underwent an extensive neuropsychological evaluation. Whole brain structural imaging was performed on a 3T GE MR scanner. Surface-based investigation of CTh was carried out by using Freesurfer Software. We also used voxel-based morphometry to investigate the pattern of GM atrophy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The voxel-wise analysis of the regional differences in CTh revealed that ICD+ patients showed a statistically significant (p<0.01 FDR) thicker cortex when compared to both ICD- patients and HCs in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and orbitofrontal (OFC) cortices. Moreover, cortical thickness abnormalities were positively correlated with ICD severity (p<0.05 FDR). VBM data did not reveal any statistically significant differences in local GM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate that ICD+ patients have an increased CTh in limbic regions when compared with ICD- patients at the same disease stage and with an equal daily levodopa equivalent dose. These corticometric changes may play a role in the lack of inhibition of compulsive behaviors. The presence of such structural abnormalities may result from a synergistic effect of dopaminergic therapy in patients with a pre-existing vulnerability to develop an abnormal behavioral response to external stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic and Aging Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: alessandro.tessitore@unina2.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tessitore
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy; Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage-Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: gabriella.santangelo@unina2.it.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Santangelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic and Aging Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Micco
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage-Capodimonte, Naples, Italy; Department of Motor Sciences and Health, University of Parthenope, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic and Aging Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy; Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage-Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raimo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Corbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Sciences and Health, University of Parthenope, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amboni
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Neuroscience Section, University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Surgical, Neurological, Metabolic and Aging Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy; MRI Research Center SUN-FISM, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Gioacchino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents
keywords: Cortical thickness; Impulse control disorders; Parkinson's disease; Reward system