Investigation of decision making and impuls control disorders in parkinson's disease patients

Objective: In Parkinson's disease, as well as motor symptoms, behavioral and cognitive impairments experienced due to dopaminergic treatment. In this study, decision-making and impulse control disorders and the relation between these two is aimed to evaluate in Parkinson disease.Method: The sample of the current study was consisted of 39 Parkinson?s disease patients and 39 healty controls. Iowa Gambling Test (IGT), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), Trial Making Test (TMT) and Auditory and Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) were used to assess decision-making and cognitive functions. For clinical assessment of patients, Uni ? ed Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hoehn and Yahr Scale, Non-Motor Symptoms Scale for Parkinson?s Disease (NMS), Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease (QUIP) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) were used respectively.Results: No statistically significant difference was found between patients and healthy controls in terms of IGT scores but patients showed poorer performance than healthy controls. Longer duration of illness, the presence of motor fluctuations and higher amount of daily dopamine agonist was found as correlated with lower decision-making performance. Impulse control disorders in patients found as correlated with education, the age of onset, amount of dopamine agonist and presence of motor fluctuations. Additionally, compulsive gambling behaviour found as related with IGT performance.Conclusion: Patients and controls showed a similar performance in terms of decision making. Decision-making and compulsive behaviors of patients varies according to their dopaminergic treatment. Additionally, there is a relationship between pathological gambling and decision-making.Key Words: Parkinson Disease, Decision making, Impulse control disorder