A pilot study to evaluate multi-dimensional effects of dance for people with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with deficits in motor, cognitive, and emotion/quality of life (QOL) domains, yet most pharmacologic and behavioral interventions focus only on motor function. Our goal was to perform a pilot study of Dance for Parkinson's-a community-based program that is growing in popularity-in order to compare effect sizes across multiple outcomes and to inform selection of primary and secondary outcomes for a larger trial. Study participants were people with PD who self-enrolled in either Dance for Parkinson's classes (intervention group, N=8) or PD support groups (control group, N=7).

Perceived and performance-based executive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.

Executive dysfunction is common in early stage Parkinson's disease (PD). We evaluated the relationship between self- and informant-report measurement of real-world executive functions as well as performance-based neuropsychological measures in mildly cognitively impaired individuals with PD and healthy controls. The PD group reported more difficulty with initiation of complex tasks compared to caregiver ratings, and processing speed was a strong predictor of self-reported executive dysfunction for the PD group, followed by depression.

The contribution of trail making to the prediction of performance-based instrumental activities of daily living in Parkinson's disease without dementia.

Performance on Part B of the Trail Making Test (TMT) contributes to the prediction of ability to complete instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in Parkinson's disease (PD). Although this suggests that cognitive flexibility is important in the everyday functioning of individuals with PD, this may not be the case as the TMT is multifactorial, involving motor speed, visual scanning, sequencing, and cognitive flexibility. The purpose of the current study was to determine which elements of the task contribute to the prediction of IADLs in a sample of 30 nondemented individuals with PD.

Comparing biobehavioral profiles across two social stress paradigms in children with and without autism spectrum disorders.

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are defined by impairment in reciprocal social interaction and flexible adaptation to the environment. This study compared physiological stress in children with and without ASD exposed to two social stress protocols. We hypothesized that the ASD group would show heightened initial and enduring cortisol levels to the social stressors, which would be moderated by age and intelligence.

Verbal ability, social stress, and anxiety in children with autistic disorder.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the physiological stress and anxiety responses in children with autism following completion of a standardized, social-evaluative stressor (Trier Social Stress Test-Child version), document the relationship between verbal ability, stress, and anxiety, and determine the association between stress and anxiety in children with autism and typical development. Results demonstrated the Trier Social Stress Test-Child version to be a benign stressor for children with autism. Lower verbal ability in children with autism did not predict salivary cortisol or anxiety responses.