Freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease is related to imbalanced stopping-related cortical activity.

ABSTRACT: Freezing of gait, characterized by involuntary interruptions of walking, is a debilitating motor symptom of Parkinson's disease that restricts people's autonomy. Previous brain imaging studies investigating the mechanisms underlying freezing were restricted to scan people in supine positions and yielded conflicting theories regarding the role of the supplementary motor area and other cortical regions. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate cortical haemodynamics related to freezing in freely moving people. We measured functional near-infrared spectroscopy activity over multiple motor-related cortical areas in 23 persons with Parkinson's disease who experienced daily freezing ('freezers') and 22 age-matched controls during freezing-provoking tasks including turning and

SUBMITTER: Cockx HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11369826 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature