The authors examined a consecutive series of 50 patients for the
presence of apathy, depression, anxiety, and neuropsychological deficits
using a neuropsychological battery that included a recently designed apathy
scale. This scale was found to be reliable and valid in the diagnosis of
apathy in patients with PD. Of patients in the study, 12% showed apathy as
their primary psychiatric problem, and 30% were both apathetic and
depressed. Patients with apathy (with or without depression), showed
significantly more deficits in both tasks of verbal memory and
time-dependent tasks. Results suggest that apathy is a frequent finding in
PD, is significantly associated with specific cognitive impairments, and
may have a different mechanism than depression.
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