Does the Personality of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Affect the Decision to Perform Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery? A Cross-Sectional Study in a Chinese Cohort

Abstract

We investigated whether the personality of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) before subthalamic brain stimulation differed from patients receiving drug treatments and whether the personality of patients affected surgical decisions. We recruited 38 patients with advanced PD scheduled for deep brain stimulation (DBS), 40 patients with PD receiving the very best medical treatment, and 51 healthy control subjects. All participants were evaluated by the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory-1 (MMPI-1). PD patients who were candidates for DBS did not exhibit any significant differences in personality when compared with PD patients who were treated with drugs. Compared with healthy controls, patients with PD had remarkably higher MMPI-1 scores for spiritual quality, neuroticism, and introversion, but significantly lower scores for socialization. In addition, patients with PD were more submissive, more dependent on others, and less active in social activities. Our data indicated that the main deciding factor relating to whether to undergo DBS was the disease itself and not the pathological personality. However, neurotic and psychotic symptoms accompanying PD may influence the effect of DBS. We found that greater benefit is obtained by surgical or medical interventions if abnormal neurotic characteristics are considered early in the course of PD.