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A mismatch between kinesthetic and visual perception in Parkinson's disease
M Demirci1, S Grill, L McShane
1Human Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1428, USA.
Annals of Neurology
|June 1, 1997
Summary
Parkinson's disease patients show impaired kinesthesia, particularly when matching visual targets. This reduced sensory feedback contributes to their characteristic motor symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Kinesthesia, the sense of limb position and movement, can be impaired in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- This kinesthetic deficit may contribute to the hypokinetic motor symptoms observed in PD patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate kinesthetic perception in PD patients.
- To compare PD patients' ability to estimate movement amplitudes using kinesthetic feedback versus visual matching.
Main Methods:
- PD patients and healthy subjects estimated passive finger movement amplitudes.
- Estimation was performed using kinesthetic (Task K) or visual (Task V) reference stimuli.
- Amplitudes were scaled as a percentage of the reference stimulus.
Main Results:
- PD patients significantly underestimated movement amplitudes more than controls in Task V (visual reference).
- This underestimation difference was not significant in Task K (kinesthetic reference).
- PD patients showed a greater difference in underestimation between Task V and Task K compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- PD patients perceive distances as shorter when using kinesthesia to match a visual target.
- Kinesthesia appears 'reduced' in PD patients, even if visual perception is normal.
- This reduced kinesthesia, combined with motor deficits, suggests a 'smaller' sensorimotor setting in PD.