Neuropsychological Outcome Following Unilateral Stereotactic Pallidotomy in Intractable Parkinson's Disease

Neuropsychological functioning was examined at baseline and 2- to 3-month follow-up in 40 subjects with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) who underwent unilateral posteroventral pallidotomy. Most subjects demonstrated improved verbal learning, visual memory, confrontation naming, and figural fluency at follow-up. Right pallidotomy was associated with decreased cognitive flexibility and increased verbal fluency, whereas Left pallidotomy uniquely resulted in a decline in verbal fluency. Significant motor improvement was demonstrated in both groups. Pallidotomy appears to be an effective treatment for advanced PD, providing a significant improvement in motor functioning, while resulting in few deleterious neurocognitive changes in most cases.