Comparison of Spontaneous Motor Tempo during Finger Tapping, Toe Tapping and Stepping on the Spot in People with and without Parkinson's Disease.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Spontaneous motor tempo (SMT), observed in walking, tapping and clapping, tends to occur around 2 Hz. Initiating and controlling movement can be difficult for people with Parkinson's (PWP), but studies have not identified whether PWP differ from controls in SMT. For community-based interventions, e.g. dancing, it would be helpful to know a baseline SMT to optimize the tempi of cued activities. Therefore, this study compared finger tapping (FT), toe tapping (TT) and stepping 'on the spot' (SS) in PWP and two groups of healthy controls [age-matched controls (AMC) and young healthy controls (YHC)], as SMT is known to change with age.

Methods

Participants (PWP; n = 30, AMC; n = 23, YHC; n = 35) were asked to tap or step on the spot at a natural pace for two trials last

SUBMITTER: Rose D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6987525 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature