Perception of whole-body motion during balance perturbations is impaired in Parkinson's disease and is associated with balance impairment

AbstractBackgroundIn addition to motor deficits, Parkinson’s disease (PD) may cause perceptual impairments. The role of perceptual impairments in sensorimotor function is unclear, and has typically been studied in single-joint motions. Research Question: We hypothesized that perception of whole-body motion is impaired in PD and contributes to balance impairments. We tested 1) whether directional acuity to whole body perturbations during standing was worse in people with PD compared to neurotypical older adults (NOA), and 2) whether balance ability, as assessed by the MiniBESTest, was associated with poor directional acuity in either group.MethodsParticipants were exposed to pairs of support-surface translation perturbations in a two-alternative forced choice testing paradigm developed previously in a young healthy population. The first perturbation of each pair was directly backward and the second deviated to the left or right (1°–44°). Participants judged and reported whether the perturbations in each pair were in the “same” or “different” direction. This information was used to calculate directional acuity thresholds corresponding to “just-noticeable differences” in perturbation direction. Linear mixed models determined associations between directional thresholds and clinical variables including MDS UPDRS-III score, age, and MiniBESTest score. Results: 20 PD (64±7 y, 12 male, ⩾12 hours since last intake of antiparkinsonian medications) and 12 NOA (64±8, 6 male) were assessed. Directional thresholds were higher (worse) among PD participants (17.6±5.9° vs. 12.8±3.3°, P<0.01). Linear mixed models further showed that higher thresholds were associated with MDS UPDRS-III score (P<0.01), and were associated with poorer balance ability among PD participants (P<0.01), but not among NOA participants (P=0.40). Significance: Perception of whole-body motion is impaired in PD and may contribute to impaired balance and falls.

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Perception of whole-body motion during balance perturbations is impaired in Parkinson’s disease and is associated with balance impairment

10.1101/666636 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sistania M. Bong ◽

J. Lucas McKay ◽

Stewart A. Factor ◽

Lena H. Ting

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Mixed Models ◽

Research Question ◽

Linear Mixed Models ◽

Body Motion ◽

Whole Body ◽

Healthy Population ◽

Support Surface ◽

Balance Ability

AbstractBackgroundIn addition to motor deficits, Parkinson’s disease (PD) may cause perceptual impairments. The role of perceptual impairments in sensorimotor function is unclear, and has typically been studied in single-joint motions. Research Question: We hypothesized that perception of whole-body motion is impaired in PD and contributes to balance impairments. We tested 1) whether directional acuity to whole body perturbations during standing was worse in people with PD compared to neurotypical older adults (NOA), and 2) whether balance ability, as assessed by the MiniBESTest, was associated with poor directional acuity in either group.MethodsParticipants were exposed to pairs of support-surface translation perturbations in a two-alternative forced choice testing paradigm developed previously in a young healthy population. The first perturbation of each pair was directly backward and the second deviated to the left or right (1°–44°). Participants judged and reported whether the perturbations in each pair were in the “same” or “different” direction. This information was used to calculate directional acuity thresholds corresponding to “just-noticeable differences” in perturbation direction. Linear mixed models determined associations between directional thresholds and clinical variables including MDS UPDRS-III score, age, and MiniBESTest score. Results: 20 PD (64±7 y, 12 male, ⩾12 hours since last intake of antiparkinsonian medications) and 12 NOA (64±8, 6 male) were assessed. Directional thresholds were higher (worse) among PD participants (17.6±5.9° vs. 12.8±3.3°, P<0.01). Linear mixed models further showed that higher thresholds were associated with MDS UPDRS-III score (P<0.01), and were associated with poorer balance ability among PD participants (P<0.01), but not among NOA participants (P=0.40). Significance: Perception of whole-body motion is impaired in PD and may contribute to impaired balance and falls.

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Early Balance Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease: Evidence from Robot-assisted Axial Rotations

Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/j.clinph.2021.06.023 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alessandro Zampogna ◽

Ilaria Mileti ◽

Francesca Martelli ◽

Marco Paoloni ◽

Zaccaria Del Prete ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Robot Assisted ◽

Balance Impairment

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Whole-body and Segmental Contributions to Dynamic Balance in Stair Ambulation are Sensitive to Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease*

10.1109/embc46164.2021.9630416 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wentao Li ◽

Nicholas P. Fey

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Early Stage ◽

Dynamic Balance ◽

Whole Body ◽

Stair Ambulation

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Tango Therapy: Current Status and the Next Perspective

Journal of Clinical Review & Case Reports ◽

10.33140/jcrc/03/08/00005 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (8) ◽

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Dance Therapy ◽

Well Being ◽

Medical Application ◽

Whole Body ◽

Current Status ◽

Argentine Tango ◽

Systemic Analysis ◽

Health And Well Being

Dance is basically a complex physical activity which either casually or formally organized in which people take part for fitness, health and well-being, social relationships or competition and a worldwide human activity that involves complex whole body movements through space synchronized to music. Dance-related reviews of evidence have examined the effectiveness of dance therapy on psychological and physical health and well-being outcomes in patients with cancer, for schizophrenia, and on depression. Dance therapy was officially described firstly in 1948. The medical application of dance therapy was well reviewed in neurologic conditions. Dance has been used extensively for the treatment of gait and balance dysfunction in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Especially, Argentine tango is the most frequently employed dance form in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Tango therapy may hold promise as an intervention to improve gait, balance, and mobility in a variety of neurological conditions. Tango therapy was approached from dance therapy to the current status of medical application. A more systemic analysis of tango movement for proper and effective therapeutic application of tango is necessary for medical purposes.

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Blunted emotion judgments of body movements in Parkinson’s disease

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-97788-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Emmanuelle Bellot ◽

Antoine Garnier-Crussard ◽

Elodie Pongan ◽

Floriane Delphin-Combe ◽

Marie-Hélène Coste ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Emotional Valence ◽

Whole Body ◽

Emotional Expressions ◽

Emotional Facial Expressions ◽

Body Movements ◽

Point Light

AbstractSome of the behavioral disorders observed in Parkinson’s disease (PD) may be related to an altered processing of social messages, including emotional expressions. Emotions conveyed by whole body movements may be difficult to generate and be detected by PD patients. The aim of the present study was to compare valence judgments of emotional whole body expressions in individuals with PD and in healthy controls matched for age, gender and education. Twenty-eight participants (13 PD patients and 15 healthy matched control participants) were asked to rate the emotional valence of short movies depicting emotional interactions between two human characters presented with the “Point Light Displays” technique. To ensure understanding of the perceived scene, participants were asked to briefly describe each of the evaluated movies. Patients’ emotional valence evaluations were less intense than those of controls for both positive (p < 0.001) and negative (p < 0.001) emotional expressions, even though patients were able to correctly describe the depicted scene. Our results extend the previously observed impaired processing of emotional facial expressions to impaired processing of emotions expressed by body language. This study may support the hypothesis that PD affects the embodied simulation of emotional expression and the potentially involved mirror neuron system.

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Temporal Characteristics of High-Frequency Lower-Limb Oscillation during Freezing of Gait in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2014/606427 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Don A. Yungher ◽

Tiffany R. Morris ◽

Valentina Dilda ◽

James M. Shine ◽

Sharon L. Naismith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

High Frequency ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Body Motion ◽

High Frequency Oscillation ◽

Frequency Oscillation ◽

Timed Up And Go ◽

Clinical Onset ◽

Acceleration Data

A cardinal feature of freezing of gait (FOG) is high frequency (3–8 Hz) oscillation of the legs, and this study aimed to quantify the temporal pattern of lower-body motion prior to and during FOG. Acceleration data was obtained from sensors attached to the back, thighs, shanks, and feet in 14 Parkinson’s disease patients performing timed-up-and-go tasks, and clinical assessment of FOG was performed by two experienced raters from video. A total of 23 isolated FOG events, defined as occurring at least 5 s after gait initiation and with no preceding FOG, were identified from the clinical ratings. The corresponding accelerometer records were analyzed within a 4 s window centered at the clinical onset of freezing. FOG-related high-frequency oscillation (an increase in power in the 3–8 Hz band >3 SD from baseline) followed a distal to proximal onset pattern, appearing at the feet, shanks, thighs, and then back over a period of 250 ms. Peak power tended to decrease as the focus of oscillation moved from feet to back. There was a consistent delay (mean 872 ms) between the onset of high frequency oscillation at the feet and clinical onset of FOG. We infer that FOG is characterized by high frequency oscillation at the feet, which progresses proximally and is mechanically damped at the torso.

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