title: It's all in the type of the task: Dopamine modulates kinematic patterns during competitive vs. cooperative interaction in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Increasing evidence suggests that a dysfunctional dopaminergic system affects the ability to socially interact. Since Parkinson's disease (PD) provides a model for assessing dopaminergic dysfunctions in humans, our study was designed to investigate social interactions in PD patients receiving dopamine replacement therapy (Levodopa=l-Dopa) and in neurologically healthy controls. We focused on the kinematics of one action, reaching to grasp a wooden block, which was performed within the context of two basic modes of social cognition, namely cooperation and competition. During the cooperative tasks, two participants were instructed to reach and grasp their respective objects and to cooperate in forming a specific configuration on the working table. During the competitive tasks, two participants were instructed to compete to place their own object at the bottom of a tower to be built on the working table. PD patients' ability to modulate motor patterning depending on the intention motivating the action they were about to perform was evaluated in both "on" (with l-Dopa) and "off" (without l-Dopa) states. Study results revealed that both the healthy controls and the 'on' PD patients had distinct kinematic patterns for cooperative and competitive actions and that these differed from patterns mirroring similar actions performed by those same participants in non social conditions. The kinematic patterns of the healthy controls and the 'on' patients were highly correlated during the cooperative tasks. The 'off' PD patients were, instead, unable to differentiate between isolated and social conditions. These results support the hypothesis that dopaminergic neurotransmission is involved in shaping the mechanisms underlying social interactions.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Straulino
authors.affiliation: Unità Operativa di Neurologia Ospedale di Dolo USL13, Venezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Tomaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scaravilli
authors.affiliation: AB-Acus Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulgheroni
authors.affiliation: AB-Acus Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Italy; Centro Linceo Interdisciplinare Beniamino Segre, Accademia dei Lincei, Roma. Electronic address: umberto.castiello@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Castiello
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D015259:Dopamine Agents; D007980:Levodopa; D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Competition; Cooperation; Dopamine; Kinematics; Parkinson's disease; Social cognition