Visuospatial functioning is associated with sleep disturbance and hallucinations in nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease

• Published in: Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology 2019-09, Vol.41 (8), p.803-813
• Main Authors: Specketer, Krista, Zabetian, Cyrus P., Edwards, Karen L., Tian, Lu, Quinn, Joseph F., Peterson-Hiller, Amie L., Chung, Kathryn A., Hu, Shu-Ching, Montine, Thomas J., Cholerton, Brenna A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Aging; Auditory discrimination learning; cognition; Cognitive ability; Dementia disorders; Executive function; Factor analysis; Hallucinations; Information processing; Language; Memory; Mood; Motor skill learning; Motor task performance; Movement disorders; Neurodegenerative diseases; neuropsychological assessment; Parkinson's disease; Quality of life; Sensorimotor integration; Short term memory; Sleep; Spatial memory; Symptom management; Visual discrimination learning
• ISSN: 1380-3395; 1744-411X
• DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2019.1623180

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a common symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) associated with reduced quality of life and a more severe disease state. Previous research has shown an association between visuospatial dysfunction and worse disease course; however, it is not clear whether this is separable from executive dysfunction and/or dementia. This study sought to determine whether distinct cognitive factors could be measured in a large PD cohort, and if those factors were differentially associated with other PD-related features, specifically to provide insight into visuospatial dysfunction. Methods: Non-demented participants with PD from the Pacific Udall Center were enrolled (n = 197). Co-participants (n = 104) completed questionnaires when available. Principal components factor analysis (PCFA) was utilized to group the neuropsychological test scores into independent factors by considering those with big factor loading (≥.40). Linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the cognitive factors identified in the PCFA and other clinical features of PD. Results: Six factors were extracted from the PCFA: 1) executive/processing speed, 2) visual learning & memory/visuospatial, 3) auditory working memory, 4) contextual verbal memory, 5) semantic learning & memory, and 6) visuospatial. Motor severity (p = 0.001), mood (p