Behind the Mask of Parkinson's / Researchers explore the communications hurdles

[Guest guest]

Behind the Mask of Parkinson's / Researchers explore the communications hurdles

faced by those with the disease and how they can be overcome

The man in the video sits alone, speaking about a wedding he recently attended.

On the surface, there's nothing unusual about the conversation, but as the tape

goes on, a curious flatness in his voice and manner are evident.

Tickle-Degnen, professor and chair of occupational therapy in the Graduate

School of Arts and Sciences, lets the video run for a few minutes before she

begins making observations.

She starts with the man's lower body, noting that he hasn't moved or otherwise

repositioned himself since the interview began. Next, she calls attention to his

left hand, which has been trembling slightly. She ends with his face, but no

explanation is necessary: he's remained almost expressionless.

To the untrained eye, the man appears disinterested, even bored. But to

Tickle-Degnen, it's clear that the subject, a Parkinson's disease patient, is

exhibiting " facial masking, " a symptom in which facial muscles become

immobilized, leaving patients with blank expressions.

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http://www.nwpf.org/News.aspx?Item=3189