Dopaminergic modulation of emotional memory in Parkinson’s disease

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of dopaminergic treatment on emotional memory in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We tested memory for emotional and neutral visual stimuli in ten non-demented PD patients on and off dopaminergic medication. Patients recalled significantly more emotional items during the off- than on-medication testing session. In contrast, treatment condition did not affect memory for neutral items. These findings demonstrate that emotional memory deficits observed in PD may result from dopaminergic treatment and suggest an involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission in emotional processing.