Reduced α4β2*–Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Binding and Its Relationship to Mild Cognitive and Depressive Symptoms in Parkinson Disease

Abstract

There is a broad reduction of alpha4beta2*-nAChR availability in patients with PD without clinically manifest dementia or depression compared with healthy volunteers. Reduced alpha4beta2*-nAChR binding in patients with PD within the subcortical and cortical regions is associated with the severity of mild cognitive or depressive symptoms. These results provide novel in vivo evidence for a role of the cholinergic neurotransmission in psychiatric comorbidity of PD.