Emotional impairment in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Emotional impairment is the common complication of Parkinson's disease (PD). Depression, anxiety and apathy affect the quality of life and the prognosis of PD patients. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies of emotional impairment in PD patients suggest abnormalities involving mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic pathways, but the specific mechanism needs further study. In this review we discuss the clinical manifestation, possible pathological mechanism, diagnosis and treatment in PD patients.