Improvement of Body Image Perception in Parkinson's Disease by Treatment with Weak Electromagnetic Fields

Abstract

Neuropsychological studies have demonstrated that Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with various cognitive deficits ultimately leading in about 30% of patients to the development of dementia. These studies have demonstrated also a greater decrement of right hemispheric functions which are manifested by visuospatial deficits occurring in up to 90% of PD patients. The Human Figure Drawing Test has been employed in the assessment of generalized intellectual deterioration and specifically in the evaluation of visuperceptive, visuospatial and visuoconstructional abilities in brain injured patients. I have demonstrated recently, on the basis of various drawing tests, that external application of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the picotesla (pT) range intensity improved visuoperceptive and visuospatial functions in Parkinsonian patients. In the present communication I present 4 fully medicated nondemented Parkinsonian patients who were administered the Human Figure Drawing Test before and after a series of treatments with EMFs. The Human Figure Drawing Test was selected for the study specifically since it was shown to be sensitive to the effects of surgery to the basal ganglia in Parkinsonian patients. Prior to application of EMFs these patients' drawings showed distortions, poor perspective, impoverished facial expression, and lack of attention to details suggesting poor body image perception related to right posterior hemispheric dysfunction. In response to the administration of EMFs the group demonstrated a striking improvement in the drawings particularly the depiction of the face the perception of which is localized to the right parietal lobe. These findings demonstrate that treatment with pT EMFs improves body image perception in Parkinsonian patients, a deficit which may remain unaffected by treatment with standard dopaminergic pharmacotherapy.

Key Words:

• electromagnetic fields
• Parkinson's disease
• body image perception
• facial agnosia
• right hemisphere
• parietal lobe
• basal ganglia