Apathy in patients with Parkinson's disease

Apathy is a common feature of basal ganglia disorders such as Parkinson's d isease (PD), yet it is often 'invisible' to the clinician, patient and fami ly. Factors responsible for the lack of recognition of apathy include confu sion between the presence of depression and apathy and the overlap of sympt oms of apathy with the phenomenology of PD. Raising awareness of apathy in PD is important because apathy contributes to PD-related disability and has an important impact on quality of life. The neurotransmitter dopamine is c entral to normal motivational behavior. Therefore, PD, a disorder of primar y dopamine deficiency, is an ideal model for the study of apathy and its ma nagement.