Perception in Parkinson's Disease

Recruiting

• Conditions: Perception; Visual Hallucination; Parkinson's Disease

• Registration Number: NCT05483036
• Lead Sponsor: Boston University Charles River Campus

Brief Summary

The investigators plan to examine the relation of perceptual variables-basic vision, unusual perceptual experiences(including but not limited to visual hallucinations)-to relevant functional variables such as cognition, mood, and alertness/sleepiness in an online sample of persons with Parkinson's disease (PwPD). It is hypothesized that unusual perceptual experiences will relate significantly to the selected variables. Participants do not need to experience visual hallucinations to be able to participate in this study. This is an observational study only, and not an interventional study.

Detailed Description

For this study, the investigators propose to conduct an online study of PwPD (proposing a total of 60 participants) to examine the relations among variables that may relate to perception in PD. Those PwPD who express interest will be sent a link to an online survey (Qualtrics). The investigators will collect demographic and health information, followed by questionnaires assessing unusual perceptual experiences, mood, motivation, sleep, fatigue and quality of life. The survey should take roughly 45 minutes to an hour to complete.

Compensation: A $20 Amazon gift card will be offered to those who complete the survey all the way through with good effort.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-07-29
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-07-29
• Study First Posted: 2022-08-01
• Study Start: 2022-09-01
• Status Verified: 2024-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-08-05
• Last Update Posted: 2024-08-06
• Primary Completion: 2024-12
• Study Completion: 2024-12

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

• Participants must be at least 40 years old
• Have a self-reported diagnosis of idiopathic PD
• Be proficient English speakers
• Have functional vision
• Have internet access, and access to a desktop computer or laptop

Exclusion Criteria

• Self-reported poor vision (non-functional range)
• Lack of access to internet and either a desktop computer or laptop

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Penn Online Evaluation of Migraine (POEM)	Baseline	Assesses headaches and migraine-related history.
Parkinson's Anxiety Scale (PAS)	Baseline	Assesses the severity of anxiety symptoms in persons with Parkinson's disease. Maximum score:48. Higher scores indicate more severe anxiety.
Noise Pareidolia Test	Baseline	Assesses tendency to see meaningful objects such as faces, animals, and objects in ambiguous patterns. Higher scores (on items with no face) indicate a higher number of pareidolic responses.
Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)	Baseline	Assesses depressive symptoms in the general population. Maximum score:60. Higher scores indicate more severe depression.
NIH NeuroQoL measures	Baseline	Assesses health-related quality of life in adults with neurological disorders. Higher scores on the sub-scales indicate worse outcomes.
Mooney Faces	Baseline	Assesses the ability to see an upright, inverted, or scrambled face in a black and white pattern. Higher scores (on items with no face) indicate a higher number of pareidolic responses.
The Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS)	Baseline	Assesses motor and non-motor experiences of daily living in Parkinson's disease. Higher scores indicate increased severity of motor and non-motor symptoms.
BU Hallucinations and Unusual Perceptual Experiences questionnaire (BU-HUPE)	Baseline	Assesses different types of visual hallucinations - simple VH; illusions; minor hallucinations: vivid sense of presence or movement in periphery (passage); and complex VH (e.g., people, animals, objects), as well as temporal and descriptive characteristics of the hallucinations. Higher scores indicate more unusual perceptual experiences.
Prodromal Questionnaire, Brief Version (PQ-B)	Baseline	Assesses risk for psychosis by asking about positive symptoms and related distress/impairment. Higher scores indicate higher risk for psychosis and higher related distress.
Parkinson's Disease - Psychotic Symptoms Scale (PD-PSS)	Baseline	Assesses the frequency and severity of minor hallucinations (passage hallucinations, presence hallucinations, visual illusions), and structured hallucinations in PD. Higher scores indicate higher frequency of psychotic symptoms.
Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)	Baseline	Assesses a person's general level of daytime sleepiness. Maximum Score: 24. Higher scores indicate a higher chance of dozing.
Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale-2	Baseline	Assesses sleep and nocturnal disturbances in Parkinson's disease. Maximum score: 60. Higher scores indicate more frequent sleep disturbances.
Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire - 39 (PDQ-39)	Baseline	Assesses Parkinson's disease-specific health-related quality of life. Higher scores indicate worse quality of life.
Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire (NMSQ)	Baseline	Assesses a range of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease. Higher scores indicate the presence of more non-motor symptoms.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Vision and Cognition Laboratory, Boston University; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States