Abstract
We used EEG source analysis to identify which cortical areas were involved in the automatic and controlled processes of inhibitory control on a flanker task and compared the potential efficacy of recombinant-human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on the performance of Parkinson's Disease patients. The samples were 18 medicated PD patients (nine of them received rHuEPO in addition to their usual anti-PD medication through random allocation and the other nine patients were on their regular anti-PD medication only) and 9 age and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) who completed the flanker task with simultaneous EEG recordings. N1 and N2 event-related potential (ERP) components were identified and a low resolution tomography (LORETA) inverse solution was employed to localize the neural generators. Reaction times and errors were increased for the incongruent flankers for PD patients compared to controls. EEG source analysis identified an effect of rHuEPO on the lingual gyri for the early N1 component. N2-related sources in middle cingulate and precuneus were associated with the inhibition of automatic responses evoked by incongruent stimuli differentiated PD and HCs. From our results rHuEPO seems to mediate an effect on N1 sources in lingual gyri but not on behavioural performance. N2-related sources in middle cingulate and precuneus were evoked by incongruent stimuli differentiated PD and HCs.
Highlights
Discovering neuroprotective agents to slow down the progression of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and, importantly, to improve cognitive deficits is an active area of research [1].e search for agents to supplement usual dopaminergic treatments directed towards motor symptoms is not surprising since the characteristic motor impairment of patients is usually accompanied by cognitive deficits [2]
We found that human recombinant erythropoietin [4] improved general measures of cognition in chronically medicated PD patients, an additional benefit to that obtained on their usual medical treatment. is result
To further understand the effect of recombinant-human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on cognition in PD patients, we need to examine its effect on specific stages of information processing. is is because the overt behavioural measures used in our previous study (a) do not have temporal sensitivity, being the end outcome of many sequential processes, and (b) do not reflect localized neural activity
Summary
Discovering neuroprotective agents to slow down the progression of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and, importantly, to improve cognitive deficits is an active area of research [1].e search for agents to supplement usual dopaminergic treatments directed towards motor symptoms is not surprising since the characteristic motor impairment of patients is usually accompanied by cognitive deficits [2]. Discovering neuroprotective agents to slow down the progression of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and, importantly, to improve cognitive deficits is an active area of research [1]. Is promising result suggested the need to further study the effect of rHuEPO on cognition in PD. As a first objective, we zeroed in on very early automatic neural processes involved in inhibitory control, the lack of which is so common in nondemented PD patients. We decided to use a very well-studied paradigm: Ericksen’s Flanker Task [10] It explores the lack of inhibition related to the difficulty in suppressing interference by incongruent stimuli. It allows the evaluation of very short latency automatic activation to incongruent flankers around 100 msec. It allows the evaluation of very short latency automatic activation to incongruent flankers around 100 msec. and other controlled processes around 200 msec
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
