I've read a number of articles on the "Parkinson's
personality," which has been described as both "industrious,
rigidly moral, stoic, serious and nonimpulsive," by researchers,
and "highly intelligent, successful, responsible, conscientious,
hard-working, and law abiding," by the wife of a Parkinson
patient - take your pick!
There is a very readable and interesting summary of research
in an essay "Is there a Parkinson personality?" in the booklet
"Patient Perspectives on Parkinson's: A series of essays" by Sid
and Donna Dorros, published by the National Parkinson Foundation.
(1995).
The following articles also consider this question:
"Dopamine-related personality traits in Parkinson's disease" by
M.A. Menza, et.al. Neurology, 1993 Mar; 43 (3 Pt.1): 505-8.
Abstract: "Studies suggest that PD is associated with a
particular group of personality characteristics. With relative
uniformity, PD patients are described as industrious, rigidly
moral,stoic,serious and nonimpulsive. In this controlled study,
we used a recently developed personality questionnaire,
Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, to test the
hypothesis that these personality traits are behavioral
manifestations of damaged dopaminergic pleasure and reward
systems. We found significantly less of a group of traits called
"novelty seeking" in PD patients compared with matched medical
controls. Patients with low novelty seeking are described as
being reflective, rigid, stoic, slow-tempered, frugal, orderly
and persistent, characteristics similar to those in the clinical
description of PD patients. We review evidence supporting the
claim that novelty seeking is dopamine-dependent, and suggest
that damage to the mesolimbic dopaminergic system causes the
described personality profile of PD patients."
"Is there a premorbid personality typical for Parkinson's
disease?" by GW Paulson and N. Dadmehr. Neurology, 1991 May; 41
(5 Suppl 2); 73-6
Abstract: "For decades clinicians have postulated a
characteristic preexisting personality in patients who develop
PD. They are described as moralistic, law abiding, conscientious
and averse to risk taking. The limited personality surveys tend
to be confirmatory, but most of the literature is anecdotal...In
addition to an apparent stability of marriages and lack of
alcoholism, patients with PD are less likely than controls to be
smokers. It has been suggested that nicotine and its byproducts
are not actually protective against PD, and it could be
postulated that higher-than-average intrinsic dopamine may
facilitate addiction. Smoking for the patient who is later to
develop PD may be particularly unrewarding..."
Of course, while many of us may fit the profile, there are
probably just as many others who don't. Both studies raise more
questions, and present no definite conclusions. But I think this
research raises some interesting questions:
If it is true, as some scientists believe that our basic
temperaments are genetically determined, and affected by our
brain biochemistry, could some of us have lower dopamine levels
from birth on, and then be more likely to develop these
personality traits? Are those individuals at a greater risk of
developing PD later on? Could a test be developed to measure
dopamine levels at an early age, and predict the onset of PD?
Would we want to know this?
If the PD personality as described above, is indeed more
prevalent among us as a group - could that be one of the reasons
we have been "Invisible" for so long?
Linda Herman
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