Interference Effects Of Cognition Load Task On Gait Of Patients With Parkinson Disease

Objective:To explore the effects of cognitive loading task on gait in patients with Parkinson disease.Method:Eight patients with Parkinson disease and six control subjects were recruited into this study. All subjects were instructed to walk in two assigned conditions: free walking that walked as usual for 2 minutes and walking with calculation task that walked as usual for 2 minutes while executing a calculation task. The gait parameters in two conditions were measured with three-dimension motion analysis equipment. All subjects were also instructed to execute a calculation task in sitting condition for 2 minutes. The numbers of completion and error rate in calculation tasks in sitting and walking conditions were recorded.Result:In free walking condition, the stride length, step length and velocity were significantly lower in the patients group than in the controls group. In walking with calculation task condition, the step length, stride length, velocity, cadence, swing time and single support time decreased significantly and the double support time and total support time increased significantly in the patients group. In the patients group, the coefficients of variability in stride length and velocity were significantly higher in walking with calculation task than in free walking and the coefficients of variability of stride length increased significantly in comparison with the controls group. The numbers of completion of calculation task with sitting were significantly less in the patients group than in the controls group. The numbers of completion of calculation task with walking were significantly more in the patients than in the controls.Conclusion:The gait in the healthy older is seldom modulated by cognitive task. The gait in the patients with Parkinson disease is interfered significantly by cognitive task and there is disharmonious allocation of cognition resource. Objective:To explore the effects of audition attentional stimulates on gait in patients with Parkinson disease.Method:Eight patients with Parkinson disease and six control subjects were recruited into this study. All subjects were instructed to walk in two assigned conditions: free walking that walked as usual for 2 minutes and walking with audition stimulation whose frequency was set at more than the basic by 10% for 2 minutes. The gait parameters in two walking conditions were measured with three-dimension motion analysis equipment. In addition, Executive function was evaluated with FAB scale and Stroop-3 Test.Result:The metronome with higher frequency increased significantly cadence and stride velocity in the controls, but decreased significantly step length and stride length besides increase of cadence in the patients. In two walking condition, stride length, step length and velocity were significantly lower in the patients than in the controls. In the condition of audition stimulation, the coefficients of variability in velocity decreased significantly in the controls, while the coefficients of variability in stride length enlarged significantly in the patients. In the condition of audition stimulation, the coefficients of variability in stride length, step length and velocity were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. Error rates of Stroop-3 were significantly negatively correlation with the step length in the condition of audition stimulation (r=-0.724, p=0.037).Conclusion:The audition stimulation with the higher frequency (more than the basic by 10%) becomes new cognitive load to the patients, which can not facilitate the gait of the patients with Parkinson disease. Objective:To explore the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic cognitive load on gait in patients with Parkinson disease.Method:Eight patients with Parkinson disease and six control subjects were recruited into this study. All subjects were instructed to walk in two assigned conditions: walking with calculation task that walked as usual for 2 minutes while executing a calculation task and walking with audition stimulation whose higher frequency was set at more than the basic by 10% for 2 minutes. The gait parameters were measured with three-dimension motion analysis equipment in two walking conditions. In addition, Executive function was assessed by frontal assessment battery (FAB) scale and Stroop-3 Test.Result:In the patients, audition stimulation increased significantly velocity and cadence and prolonged significantly single support and swing phases, but decreased significantly total and double support phases. In the controls, audition stimulation alone increased significantly velocity and cadence. In the calculation condition, all the gait variables besides stride width in the controls were superior to those in the patients. In the condition of audition stimulation, step length, stride length and velocity in the controls were superior to those in the control group. In both groups, the coefficients of cadence variability were significantly lower in the condition of audition stimulation than in the calculation condition. In the calculation condition, the coefficients of variability in stride length, swing and single support phases were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. In the condition of audition stimulation, the coefficients of variability in step length, stride length, velocity, swing and single support phases were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. In the patients, the scores of FAB decreased significantly and error rates of Stroop-3 test increased significantly in comparison with the controls. In the calculation condition, error rates of Stroop-3 were significantly negatively correlation with gait variables of step length, velocity and cadence in the patients.Conclusion:The extrinsic audition stimulation has lower interference effects on the gait of patients with Parkinson disease compared with the intrinsic cognitive load task.