Katrijn Smulders1,2, Rianne A Esselink1, Bastiaan R Bloem1, Roshan Cools3,4. 1. Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour; Department of Neurology, 6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 2. HAN University of Applied Sciences; Institute for Studies in Sports and Exercise, 6503 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 3. Radboud University Medical Center; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour; Department of Psychiatry, 6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 4. Radboud University; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour; Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, 6500, HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) has been associated with set switching difficulty in both the motor and the cognitive domain. However, the contribution of these set switching deficits to the primary motor symptoms of the disease is unclear. We investigated whether set switching deficits contribute to gait and stepping problems in PD. By contrasting motor and cognitive set switching within the same paradigm, we investigated the nature of set switching deficits associated with freezing of gait (FOG). METHODS: We integrated step initiation with set switching within one task and compared patients with and without FOG with healthy subjects. Motor set switching was defined as a change in stepping direction from one trial to the next. Cognitive set switching was defined as a change in task rule (ie, respond according to the shape or color of the presented stimulus). RESULTS: We found delayed motor switching in PD patients with FOG. We did not observe impaired cognitive switching. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that motor set switching deficits, commonly reported in tasks using verbal or tapping responses, extend to stepping and can contribute to the occurrence of freezing episodes during gait initiation.
BACKGROUND:Parkinson's disease (PD) has been associated with set switching difficulty in both the motor and the cognitive domain. However, the contribution of these set switching deficits to the primary motor symptoms of the disease is unclear. We investigated whether set switching deficits contribute to gait and stepping problems in PD. By contrasting motor and cognitive set switching within the same paradigm, we investigated the nature of set switching deficits associated with freezing of gait (FOG). METHODS: We integrated step initiation with set switching within one task and compared patients with and without FOG with healthy subjects. Motor set switching was defined as a change in stepping direction from one trial to the next. Cognitive set switching was defined as a change in task rule (ie, respond according to the shape or color of the presented stimulus). RESULTS: We found delayed motor switching in PDpatients with FOG. We did not observe impaired cognitive switching. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that motor set switching deficits, commonly reported in tasks using verbal or tapping responses, extend to stepping and can contribute to the occurrence of freezing episodes during gait initiation.
Authors: Daniel S Peterson; Katrijn Smulders; Martina Mancini; John G Nutt; Fay B Horak; Brett W Fling Journal: J Int Neuropsychol Soc Date: 2020-12-09 Impact factor: 2.892
Authors: Gilles Allali; Helena M Blumen; Hervé Devanne; Elvira Pirondini; Arnaud Delval; Dimitri Van De Ville Journal: Neurophysiol Clin Date: 2018-10-25 Impact factor: 3.734