Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Oct 2023
Longitudinal decline in striatal dopamine transporter binding in Parkinson's disease: associations with apathy and anhedonia.
Motivational symptoms such as apathy and anhedonia are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), respond poorly to treatment, and are hypothesised to share underlying neural mechanisms. Striatal dopaminergic dysfunction is considered central to motivational symptoms in PD but the association has never been examined longitudinally. We investigated whether progression of dopaminergic dysfunction was associated with emergent apathy and anhedonia symptoms in PD. ⋯ Our findings support a central role for dopaminergic dysfunction in motivational symptoms in PD. Striatal DAT imaging may be a useful indicator of apathy/anhedonia risk that could inform intervention strategies.