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The Humane Research Trust is funding a research project into the link between Parkinson's disease medication and poor impulse control. Researchers at the University of Birmingham are working with Parkinson’s disease patients to develop the insights needed in this field. This research will help us prepare tools to predict impulse control disorders, and interventions to treat them.
People affected by Parkinson's commonly use a group of treatments called dopamine agonists. Dopamine agonists work by activating dopamine receptors in the brain, providing relief from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. However, this medication can have adverse effects; it can cause patients to develop problems with impulse control.
Impulse control is the ability to withhold or cancel inappropriate behaviours. Previous research shows that up to 40% of Parkinson’s disease patients using dopamine agonists, will develop an impulse control disorder. Some common types of impulse control disorders include binge eating, gambling, and shopping addictions.
The ability to control our urges requires efficient control of inhibitions, within a specific brain network. Dopamine agonist medication may disturb activity within this network, leading to issues with impulse control. We don’t fully understand the mechanisms that cause these issues. As a result, we have no objective way to identify patients who are at risk.
Researchers commonly use rodent models to investigate impulse control in patients with Parkinson’s disease. However, it is difficult for scientists to link these behaviours in rodents and the underlying brain mechanisms to real-world human behaviours. The Humane Research Trust is currently funding a research project at the University of Birmingham to overcome these challenges. The scientists are using animal-free methodologies within this project.
The research group is working with people with Parkinson’s disease, including those taking dopamine agonist medication and those who are not. They are also making use of an age-matched group of participants without Parkinson’s disease who serve as a control group. Participants take part in a series of experiments, in which the researchers record various measures of impulse control. They use techniques such as non-invasive brain stimulation and recordings from muscles and the brain.
The scientists designed these experiments to separately examine the effects of Parkinson's disease and the medication on impulse control. The project will elucidate the link between brain mechanisms of impulsivity and the real-world behaviours of Parkinson’s disease patients.
Dr Hayley MacDonald, the project’s principal investigator, notes that the project also has applications beyond Parkinson’s disease. “This work will increase our understanding of the relationship between impulse control and brain activity in general,” said Dr MacDonald. “There are widespread implications for our ageing population and other neuropsychological conditions which cause impaired impulse control. This includes schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
