The webinar will familiarize neuropsychologists with Parkinson’s disease symptomatology and the underlying pathophysiology to facilitate understanding of the rationale for surgical treatment, especially deep brain stimulation (DBS). A brief review of empirical neuropsychological and quality of life outcome findings will be provided as a basis for interview and assessment procedures. Predictors and risk factors for adverse neurobehavioral outcomes will be discussed, and participants will be able to contribute to multidisciplinary discussions about the appropriateness of surgical interventions in a given patient. Common DBS devices and typical programming notations, as well as medication adjustments post-surgery, will be presented so that participants can consider these factors in post-surgical evaluations.
Learning Objectives:
After the webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the basic pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease.2. Describe the neurobehavioral complication rates of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease.3. Discuss considerations in selecting interview questions and assessment instruments.4. Identify neurobehavioral, demographic, and disease factors that heighten risk of poor surgical outcome and affect surgical candidacy.
Target Audience:Neuropsychologists, psychological trainees, neurologists, and medical professionals who work with patients with Parkinson’s disease
Instructional Level: Intermediate
Dr. Trösteris a Professor and Chair of the Department of Clinical Neuropsychology at Barrow Neurological Institute. Dr. Tröster’s expertise includes the neuropsychological evaluation of persons with movement disorders and especially those persons undergoing neuromodulation (deep brain stimulation) and other stereotactic and functional neurosurgical procedures. His research interests are primarily in neuropsychological and quality of life outcomes after neuromodulation and prediction of these outcomes. His contributions to the field have been widely recognized and honored. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN); former President of the National Academy of Neuropsychology; and a recipient of NAN’s distinguished scientific contributions and early career achievement awards. Dr. Tröster has authored or co-authored more than 220 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He has edited two books and been the guest editor of 5 special (thematic) issues of neuropsychology journals. He was Associate Editor of JINS from 2009 until 2024 and, in addition to serving on 4 journal editorial boards, is currently an associate editor of Neuropsychology Review. Or note, Dr. Tröster and his colleagues were among the first to document the cognitive, behavioral, and quality of life outcomes of thalamic deep brain stimulation for PD (1997) and ET (1999) and pallidal stimulation for PD (1997). These papers (and a later meta-analysis of subthalamic DBS effects) provided a foundation for neurobehavioral safety claims regarding DBS.