Cognitive correlates of “pure apathy” in Parkinson's disease

Our results demonstrated that “pure apathy” is associated with more severe executive dysfunctions such as alteration of set-shifting and inhibitory control, which are mediated by prefrontal cortex and subcortical regions (i.e. basal ganglia). Our findings also supported the hypothesis that co-occurrence of apathy and executive deficits may be the epiphenomenon of damage in prefrontal-striatal cortical circuitries connecting dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia.