Utility of the 20‐Item Noise Pareidolia Task (NPT‐20) for Assessing Visuoperceptual Disturbances Associated with Complex Visual Hallucinations in Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Complex visual hallucinations (VH) are a common complication of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies have demonstrated relevance of face pareidolia to VH in PD and Lewy body dementia (LBD). Objective: This study examined utility of the 20‐item Noise Pareidolia Task (NPT‐20) in assessing visuoperceptual disturbances associated with VH in PD. Methods: Retrospective chart review included 46 consecutive PD patients who completed NPT‐20 during clinical neuropsychological evaluation. Results: About half the sample (43%) reported VH. PD with VH made significantly more false‐positive pareidolia errors on the NPT‐20 (p < 0.0001). A cut‐off of 2 errors yielded 40% sensitivity, 100% specificity to VH; cut‐off of 1 yielded 75% sensitivity, 81% specificity. NPT‐20 was not associated with any other clinical or demographic factor. Across groups, NPT‐20 evinced moderate correlations with visuospatial functioning and visual memory. Conclusions: Current findings support utility of the NPT‐20 for evaluating visuoperceptual disturbances associated with VH in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]