Virtual visual cues to reduce freezing in Parkinson’s disease: an explorative study

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a particularly disturbing and potentially harmful symptom occurring in a majority of people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) over the course of disease. External cues, such as a metronome or bars on the floor, aid in timing and scaling of automatized movement, thereby facilitating initiation and continuation of gait. The mechanism behind visually cued movement has not been fully elucidated. The cerebellar-thalamo-cortical (CTC) network is likely involved in synchronizing movement with an external rhythm, but has not been studied in patients with PD and FOG (PD-FOG). ln this study, we aim to validate a paradigm to be used in future neuroimaging studies investigating the neuronal networks underlying visually cued movement. ln addition, this behavioural experiment explores whether moving visual cues in a virtual reality (VR) environment can improve motor timing and reduce freezing in persons with PD-FOG.

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a particularly disturbing and potentially harmful symptom occurring in a majority of people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) over the course of disease. External cues, such as a metronome or bars on the floor, aid in timing and scaling of automatized movement, thereby facilitating initiation and continuation of gait. The mechanism behind visually cued movement has not been fully elucidated. The cerebellar-thalamo-cortical (CTC) network is likely involved in synchronizing movement with an external rhythm, but has not been studied in patients with PD and FOG (PD-FOG). ln this study, we aim to validate a paradigm to be used in future neuroimaging studies investigating the neuronal networks underlying visually cued movement. ln addition, this behavioural experiment explores whether moving visual cues in a virtual reality (VR) environment can improve motor timing and reduce freezing in persons with PD-FOG.

Experiments are conducted during a single visit to the University of Twente.

the main objective of this study is to validate a VR foot pedalling paradigm to study visual cueing and freezing of gait in patients with PD-FOG, to allow for its use in future neuroimaging studies. The secondary objective is to assess the influence of virtual visual cues on freezing and motor timing ability in persons with PD and FOG.