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Flexible Reaching Control in Parkinson Disease

Behavioural Study of Reaching Control in Healthy Volunteers and Volunteers With Parkinson Disease in Dynamical Context

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05908266
Acronym
REACH-PD
Enrollment
100
Registered
2023-06-18
Start date
2023-05-01
Completion date
2027-10-31
Last updated
2023-06-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Brief summary

Current research and theories have highlighted that the parameters linked to movement planning, e.g. the decision to select a movement goal, and adaptation, e.g. the ability to update control dependent on a novel dynamical context, are update quickly and within an ongoing movement in the general population. In parallel, it has been suggested that the evaluation of movement costs is a function of the basal ganglia, and it is impaired in Parkinson disease (PD). Here the investigators want to test whether these mechanisms also alter the ability of patients to update control during an ongoing action. A positive result would confirm that movement-related costs and dynamical representations depend on the integrity of the basal ganglia, in contrast a negative result would indicate that the deficit in PD is more specifically related to movement initiation, which would invite one to reconsider the cause of bradykinesia in this population.

Interventions

Participants will be instructed to perform reaching movements by moving the handle of a robotic arm mounted with a virtual reality display.

Disease stage assessed by trained professionals

Sponsors

Université Catholique de Louvain
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Ability to perform the task (assessed during the experiment)

Exclusion criteria

* Inability to perform the task (motor) or to understand the task requirements (cognitive)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
KinematicsMeasured during the entire experiment (an average of 4.5 years)Position of the handle as a function of time. Units are millimetres
Surface ElectromyogramMeasured during the entire experiment (an average of 4.5 years)Surface recordings of muscles activities from the main muscles involved in movement production. Units are volts
Applied forcesMeasured during the entire experiment (an average of 4.5 years)Forces applied by participants on the robotic handle. Units are Newtons

Countries

Belgium

Contacts

Primary ContactAndré Mouraux, PhD
andre.mouraux@uclouvain.be+32 2 764 54 47
Backup ContactFrédéric Crevecoeur, PhD
frederic.crevecoeur@uclouvain.be

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026