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    Memory deficits in Parkinson's disease : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) O'Sullivan, Marie
    Twenty-two Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients and 22 age-matched and gender-matched comparison participants (aged 48-83 years) were tested on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), a shopping list memory task with items divided into four semantic categories.. Results supported other research in showing verbal memory deficits in PD. The PD group performance was lower on all recall trials of the CVLT. In addition, ability to discriminate between old and new items was impaired in the PD group. Participants who scored highly on total recall measures also showed a strong ability to use semantic categories in recall. A hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward's method) was used to explore the nature of the memory deficits found. Results support the existence of distinct stages of memory decline in PD, with the differences between subgroups identified showing significance when subjected to an analysis of variance (ANOVA). These results suggest that the memory deterioration which occurs in PD is initially associated with aspects of retrieval. However, as the disease progresses, encoding processes become compromised with more severe effects on memory. An interpretation, based on neural network models of memory, is discussed to suggest reasons why memory processes in PD may fail. These include activation failure, inefficiency of gating mechanisms in encoding and retrieval operations and inability to access semantic memory at the encoding stage of a memory task.
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    Differences between attitudes, ability, physical well-being and social involvement of people with Parkinson's disease who join the Parkinson's society and those who do not join : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1992) Humphries, Sharon Mary
    An investigation was undertaken to compare demographic, physical disability, and some personality differences between members and non-members of the Parkinson's Disease Society. In addition, the leisure activities of subjects were investigated, and levels of activity before and after onset of illness were compared. Eighty-seven patients were interviewed using a structured interview, while the Psychological Adjustment to Illness Scale was used to measure differences in adjustment to the illness between the member and non-member groups. While few differences were found between members and non-members, a trend in the amount of leisure activities the two groups enjoyed was discovered, whether these differences were there prior to joining the Society, or whether the Society membership mediated the differences could not be ascertained from a correlational study, and the implications of this are considered. Of the activities provided by the Parkinson's Disease Society, members appreciated the information contained in the newsletter the most.