Rehabilitation of Everyday Memory Impairment in Parkinson Disease: A Pilot Study

Cognitive impairment is common among non-demented individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) and is a significant source of disability and reduced quality of life. Unfortunately, there are no successful interventions to address these impairments. Prospective memory impairment is a particularly functionally- and clinically-relevant problem in PD. The investigator's project will determine if a targeted intervention strategy improves PD participants' prospective memory. The investigator will use a randomized controlled design and a laboratory-based assessment of prospective memory to test the effect of the strategy in a controlled environment. The investigator will also see if PD participants, with support from an occupational therapist (OT), can generalize the strategy to their complex, real-world environments and tasks. Our goal is to improve PD patients' everyday prospective memory so they can successfully perform desired activities and roles.

Inclusion criteria

• Participants will be males and females over age 50 who meet criteria for idiopathic typical PD, are Hoehn & Yahr39 stage I-III (mild-moderate disease) and are treated with levodopa/carbidopa.

Exclusion criteria

• Possible dementia,
• treatment with certain medications that interfere with cognition (e.g., anticholinergics),
• change in medications over the study period, other neurological disorders, brain surgery (e.g., STN DBS),
• history of psychotic disorder or significant current psychiatric disorder, or any condition that would interfere with testing (e.g., vision problems).