Eye movements during reading in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study

Waldthaler, Josefine; Tsitsi, Panagiota; Seimyr, Gustaf Öqvist; Benfatto, Mattias Nilsson; Svenningsson, Per

doi:10.1002/mds.105

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…In a smaller pilot study, which included 19 Swedish speaking patients, cognitive impairment assessed using the MoCA score was associated with longer fixation durations. This was not replicable in the current German-speaking cohort, although matching texts from the IReST set were used (Waldthaler et al, 2018). Linguistic studies showed that cross-linguistic processing differences while reading, which are most pronounced in children, persist in adult readers (Rau et al, 2015).…”

Section: Changes In Reading Pattern With Pd-mcimentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Swedish is considered to be orthographically deeper than German (Seymour et al, 2003). Therefore, we hypothesize that the primary compensatory mechanism in Swedish PD patients may differ, as those readers with lower MoCA scores tended to increase the fixation duration instead of executing more saccades (Waldthaler et al, 2018).…”

Section: Changes In Reading Pattern With Pd-mcimentioning

confidence: 94%

“…In a small pilot study of 19 PD patients, we demonstrated reduced reading speed in natural reading, caused by an increased number of regressions and longer fixation durations. The increased fixation duration correlated with MoCA score (Waldthaler et al, 2018). Thus, we hypothesized that the reading pattern of PD patients would differ from healthy individuals, but that slower reading speed would rather be caused by cognitive deficits than by the motor impairment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Natural Reading in Parkinson’s Disease With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

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Krüger-Zechlin

Deeb

et al. 2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Background: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) show eye movement abnormalities and frequently complain about difficulties in reading. So far, it is unclear whether basal ganglia dysfunction or cognitive impairment has a greater impact on eye movements during reading.Objective: To analyze eye movement behavior during a natural reading task with respect to cognitive state and dopaminergic therapy in PD and healthy controls. Methods: Eye movements of 59 PD patients and 29 age-and education-matched healthy controls were recorded during mute, self-paced reading of a text. 25 cognitively normal PD patients performed the task additionally in off medication state. Clinical assessment included a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and the motor section of MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS).Results: PD-mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was diagnosed in 21 patients. Reading speed was significantly reduced in PD-MCI compared to healthy controls and PD patients without MCI due to higher numbers of progressive saccades. Cognitively intact PD patients showed no significant alterations of reading speed or eye movement pattern during reading. The fixation duration tended to be prolonged in PD compared to healthy controls and decreased significantly after levodopa intake. Scores for executive functions, attention, and language correlated with reading speed in the PD group. Conclusion:The present study is the first to reveal (1) reduced reading speed with altered reading pattern in PD with MCI and (2) a relevant impact of levodopa on fixation duration during reading in PD. Further research is needed to determine whether therapeutic interventions, e.g., levodopa or neuropsychological training, improve the subjective reading experience for patients with PD.

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Section: Changes In Reading Pattern With Pd-mcimentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Changes In Reading Pattern With Pd-mcimentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Natural Reading in Parkinson’s Disease With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

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Krüger-Zechlin

Deeb

et al. 2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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“… 5 Typically, hypokinesia is reflected in the low amplitude of saccadic eye movements. 6 Previous research has indicated that slower reading in PD is caused by a higher number of regressive saccades and longer fixation duration compared with those of healthy controls (HCs) probably attributed to cognitive deficits, 7 , 8 but literature on the topic is restricted. A recent publication revealed that the differences in reading between PD and HCs are mainly attributed to cognitive deficits that may occur in PD, whereas the reading pattern does not differ significantly between cognitively intact PD patients and HCs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Reading Alterations in Parkinson's Disease Indicate Worse Cognitive Status

Tsitsi

Nilsson

Seimyr

et al. 2023

Movement Disord Clin Pract

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Background Reading difficulties are commonly reported in Parkinson's disease (PD). So far, only a few studies have assessed reading in PD, most of them confirming a different pattern in patients compared with healthy populations. Impaired oculomotor control is an early feature of PD. Cognitive deficits, on the other hand, may appear early, but they are most prominent at later stages. Although these two factors are thought to be responsible for the alterations in reading performance, it is unclear how each factor contributes to them. Objectives To evaluate eye movements during reading in PD and healthy controls (HCs). Methods Data from 42 HCs (36% men) and 48 patients with PD (67% men) at Hoehn and Yahr stages ≤3 were analyzed. PD participants were further divided into 2 groups based on their Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score using a cutoff of ≥26. Eye movements were recorded with Tobii Pro Spectrum, a screen‐based eye tracker with a sampling rate of 1200 Hz. Results PD participants performed fewer fixations per second (P = 0.033), with a longer mean (P = 0.037) and standard deviation fixation duration (P = 0.033) than HC, and further analysis showed that only patients with a lower MoCA score performed worse than HCs. Reading parameters were weakly associated with MoCA scores, irrespective of age and education. Conclusion Changes in the reading pattern of PD patients are probably attributed to cognitive rather than pure oculomotor alterations.

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“…Nevertheless, his word reading was significantly slowed and abnormal due to increased number of saccades, smaller saccade amplitudes, increased number of regressive saccades and longer fixation durations. Waldthaler et al 16 , in 2018, also characterized eye movements during reading in PD patients. They suggest that eye movements during reading reflect cognitive impairment in PD.…”

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confidence: 99%

Abnormal eye movements in parkinsonism: a historical view

Brenner

Monteiro

et al. 2021

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

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Parkinson's disease (PD), known since ancient times as paralysis agitans, was studied and described by James Parkinson in 1817 in his work “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy”. Fifty years later, Charcot and his students delved into the disease, naming it as we know it today, as well as defining the classic disease and its variants. One of these students, Arthur Dutil, addressed patients’ abnormal eye movements. Nowadays, it is known that the differential diagnosis of PD is relevant for prognosis, treatment and research, and, despite the advances in the area, it remains largely clinical. The relevance of the eye movement exam has grown along with the history of PD and it has proved to be an excellent tool for the differential diagnosis of parkinsonism. Additionally, it can become a support to identify different types of genetic PD and be useful for improving early recognition of cognitive decline in patients with PD.

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Eye movements during reading in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study

Cited by 7 publications

References 7 publications

Natural Reading in Parkinson’s Disease With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

Natural Reading in Parkinson’s Disease With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

Reading Alterations in Parkinson's Disease Indicate Worse Cognitive Status

Abnormal eye movements in parkinsonism: a historical view

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