Motor imagery of usual walking and obstacle negotiation in early-stage Parkinson’s disease: An electroencephalographic study

Objective

To assess gait imagery related activations by means of high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) in a population of early-stage PD patients and age-matched healthy controls.

Methods

Fifteen patients with early-stage PD (Hohen & Yahr range: 1–2.0) and 14 age matched controls were recruited. They were asked to visually imagine walking on a straight pathway and on a straight pathway while crossing a hurdle in the middle. We registered hdEEG in the participants and analyzed α and β bands Event Related Desynchronizations (ERDs).

Results

PD patients showed reduced low α and high β activity and more widespread ERDs in the high α range compared to the controls. On the contrary, a similar behavior in the low β band was found between the two groups.

Conclusions

Findings about α activity in PD might indicate an abnormal basal ganglia-sensorimotor interaction (high α), together with attentional and executive functions deficit (low α). Low β ERD modulation is normal in patients with PD, whereas high β ERD results may indicate top-down control impairments.

Significance

By uncovering disparities in gait imagery related activations between the two groups, our protocol could potentially help in better understanding gait pathophysiology in the early stages of PD.