Fig. 2: Behavioral performance in healthy controls (HC) and Parkinson disease (PD) patients on the Sternberg working memory task.
A Sternberg working memory paradigm with low-load (LL; 5 identical numbers), high-load (HL; 5 different numbers), and distractor-load (DL; 5 different numbers and 5 different letters) conditions. Each trial consisted of fixation (0.5 s), an encoding phase (2 s) with stimuli presentation, a maintenance phase (6 ± 2 s) during which a fixation cross is displayed, the presentation of a probe (0.5 s), and an intertrial interval (12 ± 4 s). During the probe, participants indicated whether the probe matched any number displayed during the encoding phase. B Accuracy and reaction time (RT) for the Sternberg working memory task across HC, PD-OFF, and PD-ON groups. Accuracy and RT were significantly greater and faster, respectively, in the LL compared to HL and DL conditions, for all three groups. However, no significant group difference was found in both accuracy and RT for all task conditions. Data are presented as mean values \(\pm\)SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001. p-values were determined by two-tailed t-test, with FDR correction, nHC = 37, nPD = 27; all exact p-values are provided in Source Data. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. C Brain regions of interest (ROIs) used in BSDS analysis, which are determined by activation associated with a strong load effect. The ROIs include bilateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), anterior insula (AI), caudate (Cau), and thalamus.
