Abstract
To examine the characteristics of non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) during the perioperative period of deep brain stimulation (DBS), we investigated cognitive functions and behavioral symptoms in five PD patients who underwent DBS to determine the target site via experimental stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the globus pallidus internus (GPi). The results showed a significant decrease in the phonemic verbal fluency task performance involving inhibition of habitual responses only during stimulation of the STN compared to before surgery, and delirium-like behavioral symptoms were observed in 4 of 5 patients after surgery. These results suggest the need for occupational therapy for perioperative PD patients with DBS that considers motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms, including behavior management in the ward.
