Fearing Parkinson’s Disease: Relationships Between Cognition and Emotion

Abstract

There is a growing interest in elucidating the etiopathogenesis of different neurodegenerative processes, and this chapter particularly focuses on Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting 2% of the population over 65 years old, a consequence of the vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons associated with age. It is characterized by well-known motor symptoms, whereas the presence of non-motor symptoms, such as cognitive dysfunctions and emotional disturbances, are still underestimated. The degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway results in functional-morphological changes in synaptic plasticity and architecture in fundamental areas for the processing of emotional memory (basolateral amygdala and hippocampus). Thereby, the cognitive–emotional deficit would be a critical predictive sign of motor alterations in the pathology progression. The mechanisms involved are still unknown. Currently, no treatment has been shown to modify the evolution of the degenerative process, much less the associated non-motor symptoms. Besides, several studies are advancing in the comprehension of multiple processes involved in the establishment of this neuropathology. This chapter focuses on cognition and emotion interactions in PD and their relevance to patient and caregiver quality of life. To this end, we will address the latest studies about neurocircuitries, regulation networks and possible therapeutic approaches in different parkinsonism experimental models.