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Parkinson's disease does not alter automatic visual-motor coupling in postural control.
Caio Ferraz Cruz1, Maria Elisa Pimentel Piemonte2, Líria Akie Okai-Nobrega3
1Institute of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Cruzeiro do Sul University, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Neuroscience Letters
|September 9, 2018
Summary
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) use visual cues for balance similarly to healthy individuals. However, their postural control exhibits greater variability due to increased system noise.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
- Human Movement Science
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) affects postural control, impacting balance.
- Visual information plays a crucial role in maintaining upright stance.
- Understanding visual-motor coupling is vital for assessing balance deficits in PD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the coupling between visual information and body sway in Parkinson's disease patients.
- To compare postural control strategies in PD patients versus healthy controls under varying visual conditions.
Main Methods:
- 14 patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3) and 14 healthy controls participated.
- Participants stood in a moving room that oscillated at different frequencies (0.1, 0.17, 0.5 Hz) or remained stationary.
- Body sway and room displacement were recorded to analyze postural responses.
Main Results:
- Patients with PD showed increased body sway in static conditions.
- Visual manipulation induced body sway in PD patients across all tested frequencies.
- While coupling structure was similar, PD patients exhibited less coherent and more variable body sway responses.
Conclusions:
- Patients with PD can couple body sway to visual information for postural control, similar to controls.
- The visual-motor coupling for posture control in PD is characterized by greater variability.
- This suggests a motor system with increased inherent noise in individuals with Parkinson's disease.