Neural correlates of emotional valence processing in Parkinson’s disease: dysfunction in the subcortex

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is frequently accompanied by cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms including impairments in affective processing. Despite this, mechanisms underlying vulnerability to deficits in affective processing remain unclear. In this study, we utilized functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and an Affective Go-NoGo paradigm, to examine the neural correlates of emotional valence processing in PD. Results suggest that PD is associated with aberrant processing of emotional valence in subcortical limbic structures. Specifically, we found significant group-by-valence interactions in the ventral striatum and amygdala in response to words of differing emotional valence. Our findings contribute to a broader understanding of affective processing in PD and may provide insights into the mechanisms underlying vulnerability to mood disorders in PD.