Prosody and levodopa in Parkinsons disease

Abstract

Objective Research is scarce regarding the use of prosodic parameters in the expression of attitudes in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the parameters used in prosodic expression of attitudes in individuals with idiopathic PD and the effect of levodopa on these parameters. Method We studied the use of levodopa in 10 individuals with idiopathic PD during the “off” and “on” periods, and 10 individuals without neurological abnormalities. Results PD patients showed lower frequency measurements and longer duration measurements. The levodopa caused reduction in the duration parameter. Conclusion PD patients use prosody to express their attitudes in the same way as controls in both off and on periods. However, when attitudes are not taken into account, levodopa is effective in improving the duration parameter.