The Role of Dopamine in Motor Learning in Healthy Subjects and Patients With Parkinson's Disease
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2004-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This study will examine and compare what happens in the brains of patients with Parkinson's
disease with that of healthy normal subjects while they train to react as fast as possible to
the appearance of a visual signal. Particularly, we will measure the amount of the chemical
dopamine released in the brain as well as the electrical activity during training. Indeed,
patients with Parkinson's disease frequently complain of slowness and early fatigue during
movements. These symptoms are believed to be related to a decrease of dopamine in the brain
which may be associated with abnormalities in cerebral electrical activity.
Adult patients with Parkinson's disease who are right-handed, do not have dementia, and are
not depressed may be eligible for this study. Healthy volunteers who match patients in age,
gender, handedness, and level of education will also be studied. Candidates will be screened
with a medical history, physical and neurological examinations, memory test, mood evaluation,
and urine toxicology.
All participants will be required to stop taking any medications that can influence the
central nervous system and to abstain from alcohol consumption for 1 week before the
screening examination and during the study training period. Patients with Parkinson's disease
will also be required to stop using antiparkinsonian medications for at least 12 hours before
the first visit and each training session.
Participants will have several 1-hour training sessions. During these sessions, they will sit
facing a computer screen at a distance of about 32 inches (80 centimeters) from their eyes.
Six permanent position markers will be displayed. A keyboard with six spatially compatible
response keys will be within reach of their right hand. Participants will respond as quickly
and as accurately as possible to the appearance of a stimulus (e.g., white circle) below one
of the markers by pressing the spatially corresponding key. About a second later, the next
stimulus will be displayed below one of the other markers, and so on. Reaction times and
accuracy will be recorded. After 3 to 10 minutes of practice (one block), there will be a
rest period during which the computer will display information about the subject's accuracy
of movements and reaction time. Then, a new block will start. There will be about 6 to 20
practice blocks per training session. The number of training session will vary between 3 and
6 depending on accuracy and reaction time during the task.
During each training session, subjects will have encephalographic (EEG) recordings to measure
the electrical activity of the brain. In addition, they will have one or two positron
emission tomography (PET) scans during the first training session, and some will also have
one or two PET scans during the last session. For the PET scan, the subject will be injected
with a substance called raclopride, which is taken up by the brain. The raclopride is tagged
with a radioactive substance so that it can be detected by the PET camera. The amount of
raclopride detected in the brain will provide an indirect measure of the amount of dopamine
released during training.
Before or after one of the training sessions, participants will undergo magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) to study brain anatomy. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to
produce images of the brain. The subject lies on a table in a space enclosed by a metal
cylinder (the scanner). The test takes about 45 to 60 minutes, during which the participant
must lie very still for 10 to 15 minutes at a time.
Details
Lead Sponsor:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)