2023-07-04 10:45:27
Have you ever felt watched? Have you had the feeling that someone is watching you without your knowledge? According to one study, this feeling might predict the cognitive decline of a person with Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have even claimed that 50% of people with this condition often experience hallucinations. And one in three patients would even have hallucinations before the most well-known symptoms of the disease appear.
For the study, the scientists looked at the cases of 75 individuals with this disease. The patients were between 60 and 70 years old. The researchers used neuropsychological assessments to assess cognitive decline and electroencephalography (EEG) to assess patients’ resting brain activity.
The scientists of course questioned the participants if they had ever felt being observed. As a result of their work, the team made some interesting discoveries which they published on Nature Mental Health.
Accelerated cognitive decline
According to the information obtained, hallucinations in the early development of Parkinson’s disease are to be taken seriously. People with these symptoms appear to experience faster cognitive decline over five years. In this case, it is the frontal executive function that is affected. Attention, impulse management and the ability to solve problems, among other things, are then affected.
Thus, the authors encourage people with Parkinson’s disease to speak to their doctor. Indeed, hallucinations, including those related to presence, are generally overlooked or even ignored. Usually, they are also considered side effects of treatment for this condition.
Linked to other neurodegenerative diseases?
In fact, hallucinations are false interpretations of what the senses perceive. Usually they are the result of abnormalities in the functioning of the brain. Therefore, it is relatively normal for these phenomena to be all the more frequent following a condition affecting the brain.
“So far, we only have evidence linking cognitive decline and early hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease, but this might apply to other neurodegenerative diseases as well. »
Olaf Blanke, physician and neurologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
SOURCE : SCIENCEALERT
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