Motor Control, Parkinson Disease
Conditions
Keywords
motor control, Parkinson disease, motor learning
Brief summary
This study aims to better understand how people with Parkinson's control reaching movements. Specifically, we are asking how these individuals respond to different environmental perturbations. Testing includes reaching movements made within a virtual reality set-up.
Detailed description
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting approximately up to 10 million people worldwide and with 60,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the U.S. alone. Some of the most common signs and symptoms in individuals with PD are slowed and small movements and difficulty in movement initiation. The ability to correct movements online in response to environmental changes is an important part of daily living. Online movement corrections in reaching refer to the ability to smoothly change how and where you reach in response to a change in the environment. For example, one can adjust the position of the hand and arm when trying to catch a butterfly flying in the air. Generally speaking, online movement corrections can happen in response to visual perturbations (e.g., trying to catch a butterfly) or to force perturbations (e.g., someone knocks your hand while you're holding a coffee mug). Since individuals with PD have trouble with movements, it stands to reason that they may have problems with online movement corrections. Surprisingly, very little is known about online movement corrections in individuals with PD. The current evidence suggests that individuals with PD can make online movement corrections to small visual perturbations, but whether they can successfully respond to large visual perturbations is debatable. Furthermore, whether individuals with PD can make online movement corrections to force perturbations has not been studied. The aim of this project is to investigate if individuals with PD can make online movement corrections during reaching to visual and/or force perturbations. We will test both individuals with PD and age-matched healthy controls. They will perform reaching movements while visual or force perturbations are applied. We will use various perturbation strengths in order to test for potential differences in responses to small and large perturbations. Results from this study will provide new information on how individuals with PD make online movement corrections, and possibly provide insight to improving rehabilitation for PD.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALmotor control assessment
Basic science study of control of reaching movements
Sponsors
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
University of Delaware
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
(all participants): * Age 18-85 years * Able to perform reaching movements of \ 20 cm (8 inches) * MMSE score ≥ 26/30 * Willing and able to attend all testing sessions Inclusion criteria (PD group only): * Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease per self report * Currently taking dopaminergic/dopamine agonist medication
Exclusion criteria
(all participants): * Any chronic or recent upper extremity musculoskeletal conditions that affects reaching * Any neurological disorders other than Parkinson's disease (e.g., seizure disorders, closed head injuries with loss of consciousness greater than 15 minutes, CNS neoplasm, history of stroke)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| End-point errors | during intervention | Euclidean distance from target to final hand position (units: cm); measurement derived from position data sampled at 1000 Hz |
| Reaction times | during intervention | Time from visual target presentation to movement onset (units: ms); measurement derived from position data sampled at 1000 Hz |
| Movement times | during intervention | Time from movement onset to movement end (units: ms); measurement derived from position data sampled at 1000 Hz |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactHyosub Kim, PhD
Outcome results
None listed