TY - JOUR T1 - Working memory in medicated patients with Parkinson's disease: the central executive seems to work. JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 313 LP - 317 DO - 10.1136/jnnp.60.3.313 VL - 60 IS - 3 AU - N Fournet AU - O Moreaud AU - J L Roulin AU - B Naegele AU - J Pellat Y1 - 1996/03/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/60/3/313.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVE--To determine whether a deficit of the central executive can explain the attentional deficits of patients with Parkinson's disease. METHODS--Fifteen patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 15 controls were given a dual task paradigm minimising motor demands and combining verbal, visual, or spatial span with two conditions of articulatory suppression. RESULTS--Although the spans were systematically lower in medicated parkinsonian patients than in controls, suggesting a decrease of central processing resources, there was no direct evidence for a deficit of the central executive. CONCLUSIONS--A deficit of the central executive either is not an inevitable feature of the disease, or is dependent on the nature of task (visuomotor v cognitive), or is corrected by dopaminergic medication. ER -