Impaired self-awareness of cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease relates to cingulate cortex dysfunction.

Background: Impaired self-awareness of cognitive deficits (ISAcog) has rarely been investigated in Parkinson's disease (PD). ISAcog is associated with poorer long-term outcome in other diseases. This study examines ISAcog in PD with and without mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), compared to healthy controls, and its clinical-behavioral and neuroimaging correlates.

Methods: We examined 63 PD patients and 30 age- and education-matched healthy controls. Cognitive state was examined following the Movement Disorder Society Level II criteria. ISAcog was determined by subtracting -scores (based on controls' scores) of objective tests and subjective questionnaires. Neural correlates were assessed by structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in 47 patients (43 with MRI) and 11 controls. We analyzed whole-brain glucose metabolism and cortical thickness in regions where FDG-uptake correlated with ISAcog.

Results: PD-MCI patients ( = 23) showed significantly more ISAcog than controls and patients without MCI ( = 40). When all patients who underwent FDG-PET were examined, metabolism in the bilateral superior medial frontal gyrus, anterior and midcingulate cortex negatively correlated with ISAcog (FWE-corrected p < 0.001). In PD-MCI, ISAcog was related to decreased metabolism in the right superior temporal lobe and insula ( = 13; FWE-corrected = 0.023) as well as the midcingulate cortex (FWE-corrected = 0.002). Cortical thickness was not associated with ISAcog in these regions. No significant correlations were found between ISAcog and glucose metabolism in controls and patients without MCI.

Conclusions: Similar to Alzheimer's disease, the cingulate cortex seems to be relevant in ISAcog in PD. In PD-MCI patients, ISAcog might result from a disrupted network that regulates awareness of cognition and error processes.