WORKING-MEMORY IN MEDICATED PATIENTS WITH PARKINSONS-DISEASE - THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE SEEMS TO WORK

Objective-To determine whether a deficit of the central executive can explain the attentional deficits of patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods-Fifteen patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 15 c ontrols were given a dual task paradigm minimising motor demands and c ombining verbal, visual, or spatial span with two conditions of articu latory suppression. Results-Although the spans were systematically low er in medicated parkinsonian patients than in controls, suggesting a d ecrease of central processing resources, there was no direct evidence for a deficit of the central executive. Conclusions-A deficit of the c entral executive either is not an inevitable feature of the disease, o r is dependent on the nature of task (visuomotor v cognitive), or is c orrected by dopaminergic medication.