Dysfunction in attentional processing in patients with Parkinson's disease and visual hallucinations

Julie M Hall; Claire O'Callaghan; James M Shine; Alana J Muller; Joseph R Phillips; Courtney C Walton; Simon J G Lewis; Ahmed A Moustafa

doi:10.1007/s00702-016-1528-3

Dysfunction in attentional processing in patients with Parkinson's disease and visual hallucinations

J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2016 May;123(5):503-7. doi: 10.1007/s00702-016-1528-3. Epub 2016 Mar 3.

Authors

Julie M Hall^{1

2}, Claire O'Callaghan^{1

3}, James M Shine^{1

4

5}, Alana J Muller¹, Joseph R Phillips², Courtney C Walton¹, Simon J G Lewis⁶, Ahmed A Moustafa^{2

7}

Affiliations

¹ Parkinson's Disease Research Clinic, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
⁴ School of Psychology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
⁵ Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Parkinson's Disease Research Clinic, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. simonl@med.usyd.edu.au.
⁷ MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 26940598
DOI: 10.1007/s00702-016-1528-3

Abstract

Mechanistic insights into visual hallucinations (VH) in Parkinson's disease (PD) have suggested a role for impaired attentional processes. The current study tested 25 PD patients with and 28 PD patients without VH on the attentional network test. Hallucinators had significantly lower accuracy rates compared to non-hallucinators, but no differences were found in reaction times. This suggests that hallucinators show deficits in attentional processes and conflict monitoring. Our findings provide novel behavioural insights that dovetail with current neurobiological frameworks of VH.

Keywords: Attentional network test; Dorsal attentional network; Parkinson’s disease; Visual hallucinations.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Analysis of Variance
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / etiology*
Female
Hallucinations / complications*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Parkinson Disease / complications*
Reaction Time / physiology
Statistics, Nonparametric