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Rhythmic abilities and musical training in Parkinson's disease: do they help?
V Cochen De Cock1,2,3, D G Dotov3, P Ihalainen3
1Department of Neurology, Beau Soleil Clinic, Montpellier, France.
NPJ Parkinson'S Disease
|March 28, 2018
Summary
Musicality and rhythmic skills enhance gait improvement in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients using rhythmic auditory cues. Individual musical training and abilities predict positive responses, while some patients may experience worsened gait.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Movement Disorders
- Auditory Perception
Background:
- Rhythmic auditory cues (RAC) offer immediate gait improvements in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- The variability in patient response to RAC is not well understood.
- Individual factors like rhythmic abilities and musicality may influence RAC effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between patients' rhythmic abilities, musicality, and their response to RAC in Parkinson's disease.
- To identify factors contributing to individual variability in gait improvement with RAC.
Main Methods:
- Gait was assessed at baseline and with RAC in 39 non-demented PD patients and 39 controls.
- Cognition, rhythmic abilities, and musicality (perceptual, singing, emotional response, training) were evaluated.
- Positive response to cueing was defined as a clinically meaningful increase in gait speed.
Main Results:
- Patients with a positive response to RAC exhibited greater musical training, better music perception, and more frequent step-cue alignment.
- These patients also showed poorer cognitive flexibility compared to those with a non-positive response.
- Gait performance worsened with RAC in six patients.
Conclusions:
- Rhythmic and musical skills, potentially enhanced by musical training, are linked to improved gait responses to RAC in Parkinson's disease.
- Screening for musical/rhythmic abilities and training can help identify PD patients likely to benefit from RAC.
- This approach may help predict which patients might experience gait worsening with auditory cueing.
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