Exploring Brain-Body Interactions in Parkinson's Disease: A Study on Dual-Task Performance.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Movement Science

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) causes motor and cognitive impairments linked to cortical structural deficits.
• Objective assessment of brain activity and body motion offers potential for PD evaluation and mechanism understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between brain activity and body movement metrics in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy controls (HC).
• To evaluate the feasibility of using combined brain and body motion measures for PD assessment.

Main Methods:

• Participants with PD and age-matched HC underwent the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test under simple, cognitive dual-task (CDTUG), and motor dual-task (MDTUG) conditions.
• Prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation and body motion metrics (cadence, stride/step time) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Similar PFC activation patterns were observed during simple TUG, with cadence differences between groups.
• Both groups showed highest PFC activation during CDTUG, with PD patients exhibiting greater motor impairments.
• The HC group displayed significantly higher PFC activity than the PD group during MDTUG, indicating distinct neural responses in complex conditions.

Conclusions:

• Motor and cognitive impairments in PD are exacerbated during complex activities.
• Motor dual-task TUG (MDTUG) effectively differentiated between PD and HC groups.
• Comprehensive PD assessment requires evaluating both cognitive and motor dual-task performance alongside brain activity and body motion.