The correlation between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and intelligence quotient (IQ) score was investigated in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) without severe dementia. We analyzed the (9mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography quantitative images and Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores of 44 PD patients using statistical parametric mapping. Verbal IQ positively correlated with rCBF in the right ventral striatum and the bilateral prefrontal cortex, performance IQ positively correlated with rCBF in the right operculum, insula and the left middle temporal gyrus, and full-scale IQ positively correlated with rCBF in the right operculum, insula and the ventral striatum. The identified areas may be functionally related to mild to moderate cognitive impairment in patients with PD.
2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.