Research Article Dopaminergic Modulation of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Deactivation in Parkinson Depression

License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with emotional abnormalities. Dopaminergic medications ameliorate Parkinsonian motor symptoms, but less is known regarding the impact of dopaminergic agents on affective processing, particularly in depressed PD (dPD) patients.The aim of this study was to examine the effects of dopaminergic pharmacotherapy on brain activation to emotional stimuli in depressed versus nondepressed Parkinson disease (ndPD) patients. Participants included 18 ndPD patients (11 men, 7 women) and 10 dPD patients (7men, 3 women). Patients viewed photographs of emotional faces during functionalMRI. Scans were performedwhile the patientwas taking anti-Parkinsonmedication and the day aftermedication had been temporarily discontinued. Results indicate that dopaminergic medications have opposite effects in the prefrontal cortex depending upon depression status. DPD patients show greater deactivation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) on dopaminergic medications than off