Attention and Eye Movement in Parkinson's Disease

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age19-90
SponsorUniversity of Nebraska

About this trial

The goal of this observational and interventional study is to understand how therapeutic deep brain stimulation (DBS) affects attention, perception and cognition in participants with Parkinson's disease (PD) and non-PD movement disorders, including essential tremor (ET) and dystonia (DT). The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does impaired control of attention and eye movement in PD alter how social cues are perceived and interpreted? * Does therapeutic DBS improve or worsen attentional and perceptual deficits for social cues in PD, ET and DT? * Can DBS be optimized to restore normal attentional control in PD while remaining an effective therapy for other aspects of the disorder. * What do parts of the brain targeted by DBS contribute to the control of attention?

Using an eye tracking camera, investigators will study how participants with PD, ET and DT look at and perceive facial expressions of emotion before and after starting DBS therapy, in comparison to a group of healthy participants without ET, PD, DT or DBS. Participants with PD, ET and DT will see and rate morphed facial expressions on a computer screen in three conditions:

* Before starting DBS therapy (over approximately 1 hour). * In the operating room, during the standard procedure to implant DBS electrodes, while the participant is awake (for no more than 15 minutes). * After starting DBS therapy, with brief experimental changes of DBS stimulation level and frequency (over approximately 1 hour).

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

Ability and willingness to provide signed informed consent for this study

Ability to express perceptual judgments through a button press or mouse- controlled computerized slider

Age 19 - 90 years

Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor (ET) or dystonia (DT).

Disqualifiers

Corrected visual acuity insufficient to perceptually judge face stimuli

Inability to understand task instructions or complete task requirements

Corrected visual acuity insufficient to perceptually judge face stimuli

Inability to understand task instructions or complete task requirements

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Normal therapeutic DBS
  • Reduced current DBS
  • Reduced frequency DBS

Treatment groups

138 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment group

Sponsors and collaborators

University of Nebraska

Lead sponsor

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

Collaborator