Despite the well-known neuropsychiatric side effects of dopaminergic medications, the possible subjective psychotomimetic effects of a single dose of L-DOPA in newly diagnosed, drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are not known. To investigate this question, we used a visual search task for latent inhibition (LI), the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) scale, and visual analog scales for psychotomimetic effects (perception, relaxation, and dysphoria) in 28 de novo PD patients before (off) and after (on) the adminstration of L-DOPA and in 25 matched healthy control individuals. Results revealed increased LI in PD-off and decreased LI in PD-on relative to the control subjects. After the administration of L-DOPA, we observed a significant decline in LI in PD. L-DOPA also enhanced perceptual experiences (changes in subjective feelings in thinking, time perception, and mental "highness"). Greater reduction in LI was associated with enhanced perceptual experiences. These results suggest that a single dose of L-DOPA has a significant psychotomimetic effect, which is associated with decreased LI, a behavioral marker of psychosis-like experiences.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1630-6DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

single dose
12
dose l-dopa
12
perceptual experiences
12
latent inhibition
8
parkinson's disease
8
psychotomimetic effects
8
enhanced perceptual
8
l-dopa
6
experiences
5
l-dopa changes
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!