Masked Faces in Parkinson Disease: Mechanism & Treatment

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的总体目标是提高对神经系统疾病患者非语言沟通障碍的理解。面部表情是一种复杂的信号，它很短暂，只持续几分钟，对交流意图、动机和情绪状态很重要。在人类中，各种神经和精神状况改变了使用面部信号的倾向。事实上，面部表情减少或“蒙面”是帕金森病的主要特征之一，帕金森病是一种主要影响老年人的神经退行性基底神经节疾病。传统上，人们认为帕金森病代表了一个“模型系统”，它损害了自发的（边缘）面部情绪，同时保持了故意的（皮层）面部表情的完整。使用计算机成像方法量化面部动态运动变化的初步数据初步表明，这种分离可能是没有根据的（鲍尔斯等人，出版中）。本研究的目的是应用计算机成像方法来了解：(a)帕金森患者面部表情的减少是否涉及影响意志和自发情绪的调节缺陷；(b)这些调节缺陷是否与多巴胺能缺乏症有关，以及(c)通过行为干预治疗PD患者的呼吸强度，面部表情的哪些参数（时间、频率、熵）得到改善。综上所述，本研究的发现可能有助于理解帕金森病中面部表情减少的机制，并提供最终可能对非语言交流障碍的治疗有用的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this research is to improve understanding of nonverbal communication disorders among patients with neurologic disease. Facial expressions are complex signals that are brief, last only a few minutes and important for communicating intention, motivation, and emotional states. In humans a variety of neurologic and psychiatric conditions alter the propensity to use facial signals. In fact, diminished facial expressivity, or the "masked face" is one of the cardinal features of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative basal ganglia disorder that primarily affects older adults. Classically, it has been held that Parkinson's disease represents a "model system" for impairing spontaneous (limbic) facial emotions, whilst leaving intentionally posed (cortical) facial expressions intact. Preliminary data, using computer imaging methods to quantify dynamic movement changes over the face, tentatively suggests that this dissociation may be unfounded (Bowers et al., in press). The purpose of the proposed research is to apply computing imaging methods to learn: (a) whether diminished facial expressivity among Parkinson patients involves modulatory defects that influence both volitional and spontaneous emotions; (b) whether these modulatory defects are related to dopaminergic deficiency, and (c) which parameters of facial expressivity (timing, frequency, entropy) are improved by a behavioral intervention for treating respiratory strength in PD. Taken together, the findings from this study may facilitate understanding of the mechanisms underlying diminished facial expressivity in Parkinson's disease and provide information that may ultimately be useful in the treatment of nonverbal communication disturbances.