Kinesthetic but not visual imagery assists in normalizing the CNV in Parkinson's disease

This study investigated whether kinesthetic and/or visual imagery could alter the contingent negative variation (CNV) for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

The CNV was recorded in six patients with PD and seven controls before and after a 10min block of imagery. There were two types of imagery employed: kinesthetic and visual, which were evaluated on separate days.

The global field power (GFP) of the late CNV did not change after the visual imagery for either group, nor was there a significant difference between the groups. In contrast, kinesthetic imagery resulted in significant group differences pre-, versus post-imagery GFPs, which was not present prior to performing the kinesthetic imagery task. In patients with PD, the CNV amplitudes post-, relative to pre-kinesthetic imagery, increased over the dorsolateral prefrontal regions and decreased in the ipsilateral parietal regions. There were no such changes in controls.

A 10-min session of kinesthetic imagery enhanced the GFP amplitude of the late CNV for patients but not for controls.

While the study needs to be replicated with a greater number of participants, the results suggest that kinesthetic imagery may be a promising tool for investigations into motor changes, and may potentially be employed therapeutically, in patients with Parkinson's disease.