Visuomotor control of neck surface electromyography in Parkinson's disease

To compare performance of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and age-matched controls on a visuomotor tracking task controlled via surface electromyography (sEMG).

Twenty-seven adults with PD and twenty-four older controls produced dry swallows and completed a visuomotor tracking task utilizing both static and dynamic targets. sEMG was recorded at the anterior neck and submental surface during both tasks.

There was no significant difference in visuomotor tracking ability between cohorts. Post hoc analyses indicated that there was no significant difference between participant groups in the strength or duration of swallows as measured by sEMG but that participants with PD showed a trend for decreased swallow durations at the anterior neck (padj = 0.067) whereas controls showed a trend for increased durations at the anterior neck (padj = 0.112), compared to the submental surface. However, there were no significant correlations between swallowing behavior and visuomotor tracking ability.

There were no significant differences in visuomotor tracking performance between individuals with PD and controls. Furthermore, there was no relationship between tracking ability and swallowing behavior. We conclude that sEMG-mediated biofeedback may have limited promise as a tool for treating PD-related dysphagia.