Linda... After reading your post and thinking about the "Parkinson's Personality" as described, I've concluded that we as individuals and as a group have at one point in our lives had a "Pre-Parkinson's Personality," which was totally unique to the individual. Prior to the individual being handicapped (literally) by the disease, we were each able to do whatever we were genetically programmed to do, IF we wanted to do so. Mostly our individual minds and bodies were in harmony and worked together at our command. Because of that the none of us as individuals was hampered in being our maximum self except by our own inclination and by society's restraints. With the onset of Parkinson's we've found our daily life FORCIBLY regulated by the need to take drugs on a semi-set-yet-often- changing schedule just so we can function and THAT varies from person-to-person. So there goes our impulsiveness and much of our spontaneity right down the tubes. If we AREN'T stoic and accepting about this unwelcome drug- induced-regulation and chose to fight these regulations, USUALLY we end up feeling much worse physically AND emotionally than we do if we permit the drugs we're forced to take to somewhat regulate our daily life. In my opinion, many of the other traits attributed to the the "Parkinson's Personality" are not genetic in origin, but are forced on us BY the disease. We are eventually MOLDED as individuals AND as a group by the grossly uncomfortable, physically, emotionally, often downright embarrassing symptoms of PD and the daily struggle we have Parkinson's. And let's not discount the regulation on the individual imposed upon many of us by a lessening or loss of income caused by the disease. Just as a craggy, faceted rock tossed into the ocean is eventually ground into a smooth, rounded stone by continually having it's edges worn away by the sheer repetition and power of the oceans waves, so the disease grinds down our own unique "edges" till we've grown somewhat featureless, tho no less beautiful in our own way. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of [log in to unmask] Sent: Sunday, March 29, 1998 4:10 AM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Re: Parkinson personality??? 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 [log in to unmask]