Harm avoidance (HA) is a personality trait characterized by excessive worrying; pessimism; shyness; and being fearful, doubtful, and easily fatigued. In MRI studies HA was correlated with reduced grey matter volume in the orbito-frontal, occipital and parietal regions.
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Studies assessing [[personality]] dimensions by the "[[Temperament and Character Inventory]]" (TCI) have previously found an association between [[Parkinson's disease]] (PD) and lower [[Novelty Seeking]] and higher [[Harm Avoidance]] scores. Boussac et al. aimed to describe the personality dimensions of [[Parkinson's disease]] (PD) patients with motor fluctuations and compare them to a normative population and other PD populations.

All PD patients awaiting [[Deep Brain Stimulation]] (DBS) answered the TCI before neurosurgery. Their results were compared to those of historical cohorts (a French normative population, a de novo PD population, and a PD population with motor fluctuations).

Most personality dimensions of 333 included PD patients with motor fluctuations who are candidates for DBS were different from those of the normative [[population]] and some were also different from those of the De Novo PD population, whereas they were similar to those of another population of PD patients with motor fluctuations.

During the course of [[Parkinson's disease]] (PD), [[personality]] dimensions can change in parallel with the development of [[motor]] fluctuations, either due to the evolution of the disease and/or dopaminergic treatments
((Boussac M, Arbus C, Dupouy J, Harroch E, Rousseau V, Croiset A, Ory-Magne F, Rascol O, Moreau C, Rolland AS, Maltête D, Rouaud T, Meyer M, Drapier S, Giordana B, Anheim M, Hainque E, Jarraya B, Benatru I, Auzou N, Belamri L, Tir M, Marques AR, Thobois S, Eusebio A, Corvol JC, Devos D, Brefel-Courbon C; PREDI-STIM study group. Personality dimensions of patients can change during the course of parkinson's disease. PLoS One. 2021 Jan 7;16(1):e0245142. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245142. PMID: 33411732.)).