ARE PERCEPTION AND MEMORY FOR FACES INFLUENCED BY A SPECIFIC AGE AT ONSET FACTOR IN PARKINSONS-DISEASE

This study investigated the possibility that a specific age at onset f actor in Parkinson's disease results in qualitative differences in cog nitive functioning between early- and late-onset patients without deme ntia. Both early- and late-onset patients performed more poorly than m atched controls on face-matching, recognition memory for unfamiliar fa ces and famous face identification. When the performance of early- and late-onset patients was contrasted, alongside that of controls, both Parkinson's disease and age were found to be factors that influenced c ognitive ability. No interaction between these factors emerged. These results suggest that performance of early- and late-onset Parkinson's disease patients without dementia may be quantitatively different and lend no further support to the proposal that two separate disorders ex ist.