Abstract
Using an anti-cue keypress task, we examined executive control in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and dopaminergic medication. Across sessions, we varied stimulation (on, off) and dopaminergic medication (on, off). Reaction time (RT) results of the PD patients and their age-matched controls showed a consistent pattern of RT costs and benefits generated by anti-cues with short and long preparation intervals, respectively. This pattern was evident in all sessions, except when DBS stimulation and medication were off. In this condition PD patients showed no RT benefits. These findings are discussed in terms of an executive control process that suppresses the automatic but inappropriate response activation generated by anti-cues. In PD this mechanism is severely compromised but it can be remediated by dopaminergic medication and DBS, suggesting an essential role of the basal ganglia in the selection and suppression of competing responses.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 113-117 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Neuroscience Letters |
| Volume | 500 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 17 Jun 2011 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Aug 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Aged
- Benserazide/therapeutic use
- Benzothiazoles/therapeutic use
- Carbidopa/therapeutic use
- Cues
- *Deep Brain Stimulation
- Dopamine Agents/*therapeutic use
- Drug Combinations
- Female
- Humans
- Levodopa/therapeutic use
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Parkinson Disease/physiopathology/*psychology/therapy
- Pergolide/therapeutic use
- *Psychomotor Performance
- Reaction Time
- Subthalamic Nucleus/physiopathology
- Anti-cue
- Response selection
- Executive control