Objective: To investigate the neuropsychological profiles of White, Japanese, and other Asian American or Pacific Islander (OAAPI) patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) identified as candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery.

Background: Cognitive dysfunction and neuropsychiatric symptoms are common non-motor features in PD. While neuropsychological assessment provides a sensitive analysis of cognitive function, it is not routine practice for PD care. DBS surgery is recognized as a highly-established advanced therapy for PD; however, it can occasionally exacerbate cognitive dysfunction [1]. Therefore, neuropsychological evaluation is essential when evaluating PD patients for DBS candidacy [2]. We aimed to examine the neuropsychological profiles of different racial groups in the PD population of Hawaiʻi.

Method: Retrospective analysis of neuropsychological data in 55 PD patients who underwent pre-surgical evaluation for DBS surgery using a locally developed, standardized test battery, and were identified as candidates at the Queen’s Medical Center from 2020-2025. Statistical analyses were conducted using R version 4.4.3.

Results: We analyzed the neuropsychological profiles of White (n=22), Japanese (n=16) and OAAPI (n=17) PD patients identified for DBS surgery. There was a significant difference across all race groups, in patients ≤65 years-old on tasks of delayed verbal memory (p=0.03) and perceptual reasoning (p=0.04); however, there was no significance (p>0.05) between pairs of groups on these tasks. In patients >65 years-old, OAAPI patients’ scores were lower than both White and Japanese patients on a task of premorbid functioning (p=0.01), lower than White patients on picture naming (p=0.01), and lower than Japanese patients on a task of verbal fluency (p=0.04). A significant difference across all race groups was found in patients >65 years-old on a task of visuospatial organization (p=0.02).

Conclusion: With age considered, there are differences in the neuropsychological profiles for PD patients within different racial groups selected for DBS surgery. Further analysis with a larger sample size is necessary to elucidate the pair-wise differences in neuropsychological profiles of different PD racial groups.

References: 1. Watson GS, Leverenz JB. Profile of Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease. Brain Pathol. 2010;20(3):640-645. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3639.2010.00373.x
2. Toovey C, Anderson SW. Chapter 2 – Neuropsychology of Parkinson’s disease. In: Progress in Brain Research. Vol 269. ; 2022:39-58.

« Back to 2025 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/retrospective-analysis-of-the-neuropsychological-profiles-of-parkinsons-disease-patients-selected-for-deep-brain-stimulation-surgery-in-hawaii/