Effect of medication, dual tasking and asymmetry on the cortical brain activity during gait in older people with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

The Parkinson's disease (PD) seems to reduce the cortical activity, which impairs the motor planning and the adjustments for a precise locomotion. However, the mechanisms of the cortical activities associated to locomotion disorders in PD, especially related to the effects of dopaminergic medication, the complexity of cognitive dual tasking and the asymmetry in the disease, are not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the cortical activity behavior during gait in older adults with PD, considering the acute effect of dopaminergic medication state, the complexity of cognitive dual tasking and the PD asymmetry. To answer the questions of the project, three studies will be developed. In the first study, older adults with PD will walk with and without obstacle avoidance in an "off" state of dopaminergic medication and every 15 minutes after having taken their typically prescribed dose of levodopa until 3 hours after medication taken. This study will investigate the temporal effect of the morning levodopa on cortical activity behavior and spatial-temporal and muscular parameters of walking and the duration of this effect on the parameters analyzed. In the second study, older adults with PD and neurologically healthy older individuals will perform a series of walking with cognitive dual task conditions, which will have different levels of the complexity. We will determine the complexity level of the dual cognitive task that will affect cortical activity behavior and motor parameters of walking in both groups. In the third study, older adults with PD and neurologically healthy older individuals will perform obstacle circumvention during walking for both sides. We will investigate the cortical activity behavior when an asymmetrical task is performed and analyze the relation to cortical activity behavior and motor and visual parameters during gait. (AU)