Depression impairs learning whereas anticholinergics impair transfer generalization in Parkinson patients tested on dopaminergic medications

Mohammad M. Herzallah, Ahmed A. Moustafa, Adel J. Misk, Lara H. Al-Dweib, Samer A. Abdelrazeq, Catherine E. Myers, Mark A. Gluck

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    In a study of acquired equivalence in Parkinson disease (PD), in which patients were tested on normal dopaminergic medication, we found that comorbid clinical depression impairs initial acquisition, whereas the use of anticholinergic therapy impairs subsequent transfer generalization. In addition, this study provides a replication of the basic finding of Myers et al (2003) that patients with PD on dopaminergic therapy are impaired at initial acquisition, but normal at subsequent transfer generalization, generalizing these results to an Arabic-speaking population including many participants with no formal education. These results are consistent with our past computational modeling, which argues that acquisition of incrementally acquired, feedback-based learning tasks is dependent on cortico-striatal circuits, whereas transfer generalization is dependent on medial temporal (MT) structures. They are also consistent with prior computational modeling, and with empiric work in humans and animals, suggesting that anticholinergic drugs may particularly impair cognitive abilities that depend on the MT lobe.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)98-105
    Number of pages8
    JournalCognitive and Behavioral Neurology
    Volume23
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

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