Reliability, validity, and clinical correlates of apathy in Parkinson's disease

• Published in: The journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences Vol. 4; no. 2; p. 134
• Main Authors: Starkstein, S E, Mayberg, H S, Preziosi, T J, Andrezejewski, P, Leiguarda, R, Robinson, R G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-05-1992
• Subjects: Aged; Analysis of Variance; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Motivation; Neurocognitive Disorders - diagnosis; Neurocognitive Disorders - psychology; Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Parkinson Disease - diagnosis; Parkinson Disease - psychology; Psychometrics
• ISSN: 0895-0172
• DOI: 10.1176/jnp.4.2.134

The authors examined a consecutive series of 50 patients for the presence of apathy, depression, anxiety, and neuropsychological deficits using a neuropsychological battery that included a recently designed apathy scale. This scale was found to be reliable and valid in the diagnosis of apathy in patients with PD. Of patients in the study, 12% showed apathy as their primary psychiatric problem, and 30% were both apathetic and depressed. Patients with apathy (with or without depression), showed significantly more deficits in both tasks of verbal memory and time-dependent tasks. Results suggest that apathy is a frequent finding in PD, is significantly associated with specific cognitive impairments, and may have a different mechanism than depression.