Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Sep 5:19:e20240254.
doi: 10.1590/1980-5764-DN-2024-0254. eCollection 2025.

Effects of deep brain stimulation on personality and executive function in Parkinson's disease

Thayná Laís de Souza Arten  1 , Amer Cavalheiro Hamdan  1
Affiliations

Effects of deep brain stimulation on personality and executive function in Parkinson's disease

Thayná Laís de Souza Arten et al. Dement Neuropsychol. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with cognitive and personality changes that extend beyond its characteristic motor symptoms.

Objective: To analyze the effects of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) on executive function (EF) and personality (The Five-Factor Model - FFM) in PD patients, comparing outcomes between those treated solely with medication and those receiving both medication and STN-DBS.

Methods: A total of 69 participants were divided into three groups: DBS, medication, and control. Evaluations included inventories, tests, and scales, with results summarized in tables highlighting sociodemographic variables and screening outcomes.

Results: Cognitive assessments indicated that the DBS group exhibited slightly lower cognitive scores compared to the medication group. Personality differences were minimal, with only extraversion demonstrating significance.

Conclusion: STN-DBS did not have a significant impact on executive functions or personality traits in patients with PD. These results highlight the importance of considering broader cognitive and neuropsychiatric factors when evaluating patient outcomes following DBS.

A doença de Parkinson (DP) está associada a alterações cognitivas e de personalidade que vão além de seus sintomas motores.

Objetivo: Analisar os efeitos da estimulação cerebral profunda do núcleo subtalâmico (STN-DBS) nas funções executivas (FE) e na personalidade (Modelo dos Cinco Fatores — FFM) em pacientes com DP, comparando os resultados entre os pacientes tratados exclusivamente com medicação em comparação àqueles tratados com medicação e STN-DBS.

Métodos: Sessenta e nove participantes foram divididos em três grupos: DBS, medicação e controle. As avaliações incluíram inventários, testes e escalas, e os resultados foram resumidos em tabelas que destacam variáveis sociodemográficas e os resultados nos instrumentos.

Resultados: As avaliações cognitivas mostraram que o grupo DBS apresentou pontuações ligeiramente inferiores em comparação com o grupo de medicação em relação à cognição. As diferenças de personalidade foram mínimas, com significância observada apenas para extroversão.

Conclusão: O STN-DBS não apresentou impacto significativo nas funções executivas ou traços de personalidade em pacientes com DP. Esses resultados ressaltam a importância de se considerar fatores cognitivos e neuropsiquiátricos mais amplos na avaliação dos desfechos clínicos após a DBS.

Keywords: Deep Brain Stimulation; Executive Function; Parkinson Disease; Personality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Lin Z, Zhang C, Li D, Sun B. Lateralized effects of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease: evidence and controversies. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2021;7(1):64. doi: 10.1038/s41531-021-00209-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Armstrong MJ, Okun MS. Diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson disease: a review. JAMA. 2020;323(6):548–60. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.22360. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Castonguay AM, Gravel C, Lévesque M. Treating Parkinson’s disease with antibodies: previous studies and future directions. J Parkinsons Dis. 2021;11(1):71–92. doi: 10.3233/JPD-202221. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zesiewicz TA. Parkinson disease. Continuum. 2019;25(4):896–918. doi: 10.1212/CON.0000000000000764. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wilt JA, Merner AR, Zeigler J, Montpetite M, Kubu CS. Does personality change follow deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease patients? Front Psychol. 2021;12:643277. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643277. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources