Preserved motor memory in Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease, who lose the dopaminergic projections to the striatum, are impaired in certain aspects of motor learning. Recent evidence suggests that, in addition to its role in motor performance, the striatum plays a key role in the memory of motor learning. Whether Parkinson's patients have impaired motor memory and whether motor memory is modulated by dopamine at the time of initial learning is unknown. To address these questions, we measured memory of a learned motor sequence in Parkinson's patients who were either On or Off their dopaminergic medications. We compared them to a group of older and younger controls. Contrary to our predictions, motor memory was not impaired in patients compared to older controls, and was not influenced by dopamine state at the time of initial learning. To probe post-learning consolidation processes, we also tested whether learning a new sequence shortly after learning the initial sequence would interfere with later memory. We found that, in contrast to younger adults, neither older adults nor patients were susceptible to this interference. These findings suggest that motor memory is preserved in Parkinson's patients and raise the possibility that motor memory in patients is supported by compensatory non-dopamine sensitive mechanisms. Furthermore, given the similar performance characteristics observed in the patients and older adults and the absence of an effect of dopamine, these results raise the possibility that aging and Parkinson's disease affect motor memory in similar ways.

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Motor memory and the preselection effect in Huntington's and Parkinson's disease

Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1016/0028-3932(94)90045-0 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 32 (8) ◽

pp. 951-968 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Florence Pasquier ◽

Martial Van der Linden ◽

Vincent Lefebvre ◽

Christine Lefebvre ◽

Raymond Bruyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Memory

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Acute Exercise Following Skill Practice Promotes Motor Memory Consolidation in Parkinson’s Disease

10.1101/2020.05.15.097394 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Philipp Wanner ◽

Martin Winterholler ◽

Heiko Gaßner ◽

Jürgen Winkler ◽

Jochen Klucken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Learning ◽

Memory Consolidation ◽

Acute Exercise ◽

Dopaminergic System ◽

Exercise Bout ◽

Whole Body ◽

Motor Memory ◽

Offline Learning

AbstractAcute cardiovascular exercise has shown to promote neuroplastic processes, and thus to improve the consolidation of newly acquired motor skills in healthy adults. First results suggest that this concept may be transferred to populations with motor and cognitive dysfunctions. In this context, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is highly relevant since patients demonstrate deficits in motor learning. Hence, in the present study we sought to explore the effect of a single post-practice exercise bout on motor memory consolidation in PD patients.For this purpose, 17 PD patients (Hoehn and Yahr: 1 – 2.5, age: 60.1 ± 7.9 y) practiced a whole-body task followed by either (i) a moderate-intense bout of cycling, or (ii) seated rest for a total of 30 minutes. The motor task required the participants to balance on a tiltable platform (stabilometer) for 30 seconds. During skill practice, patients performed 15 trials followed by a retention test 1 day and 7 days later. We calculated time in balance (platform within ± 5° from horizontal) for each trial and within- and between-group differences in memory consolidation (i.e. offline learning = skill change from last acquisition block to retention tests) were analyzed.Groups revealed similar improvements during skill practice (F4,60 = .316, p = .866), but showed differences in offline learning, which was only evident after 7 days (F1,14 = 5.602, p = .033).Our results suggest that a single post-practice exercise bout is effective in enhancing long-term motor memory consolidation in a population with motor learning impairments. This may point at unique promoting effects of exercise on dopamine neurotransmission involved in memory formation. Future studies should investigate the potential role of exercise-induced effects on the dopaminergic system.HighlightsAcute exercise enhanced motor memory consolidation in PDEffects were evident only at 7-day retentionResults may indicate unique exercise-effects on the dopaminergic systemFindings show promising potential of exercise for motor rehabilitation

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Acute exercise following skill practice promotes motor memory consolidation in parkinson’s disease

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory ◽

10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107366 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 107366

Author(s):

Philipp Wanner ◽

Martin Winterholler ◽

Heiko Gaßner ◽

Jürgen Winkler ◽

Jochen Klucken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Memory Consolidation ◽

Acute Exercise ◽

Motor Memory

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Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on voice and speech in Parkinson's disease

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology ◽

10.1017/s0022215106002787 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 1

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Voice And Speech

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Emerging Drugs and Targets for Parkinson's Disease

10.1039/9781849737357 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease

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Evaluation of Efferent Auditory System and Hearing Quality in Parkinson's Disease: Is the Difficulty in Speech Understanding in Complex Listening Conditions Related to Neural Degeneration or Aging?

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00337 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Nuriye Yıldırım Gökay ◽

Bülent Gündüz ◽

Fatih Söke ◽

Recep Karamert

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Auditory System ◽

Otoacoustic Emissions ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Auditory Pathway ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

System Function ◽

Distortion Product

Purpose The effects of neurological diseases on the auditory system have been a notable issue for investigators because the auditory pathway is closely associated with neural systems. The purposes of this study are to evaluate the efferent auditory system function and hearing quality in Parkinson's disease (PD) and to compare the findings with age-matched individuals without PD to present a perspective on aging. Method The study included 35 individuals with PD (mean age of 48.50 ± 8.00 years) and 35 normal-hearing peers (mean age of 49 ± 10 years). The following tests were administered for all participants: the first section of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale; pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, tympanometry, and acoustic reflexes; and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and contralateral suppression of DPOAEs. SPSS Version 25 was used for statistical analyses, and values of p < .05 were considered statistically significant. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the pure-tone audiometry thresholds and DPOAE responses between the individuals with PD and their normal-hearing peers ( p = .732). However, statistically significant differences were found between the groups in suppression levels of DPOAEs and hearing quality ( p < .05). In addition, a statistically significant and positive correlation was found between the amount of suppression at some frequencies and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale scores. Conclusions This study indicates that medial olivocochlear efferent system function and the hearing quality of individuals with PD were affected adversely due to the results of PD pathophysiology on the hearing system. For optimal intervention and follow-up, tasks related to hearing quality in daily life can also be added to therapies for PD.

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