Functioning of the Mirror Neurons System in Parkinson's Disease and Its Impact on the Social Cognition

Parkinson's disease (PD) is usually responsible of cognitive and behavioral non-motor signs with a major impact on the quality of life. Social cognition is a complex system relying on emotion recognition (neurons mirror system, NMS), the theory of mind (with its two parts: emotional and cognitive), but also on the social and cultural environment and the personal history. The first step in this model is represented by the NMS, which seems to be altered in PD patients for both positive and negative emotions as shown in our preliminary study. The investigator purpose is to investigate the role of the treatment (levodopa and deep brain stimulation) on the functioning of the NMS.