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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sam Stuart, Dr Susan Lord, Dr Brook Galna, Professor Lynn RochesterORCiD
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© 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Gait impairment is a core feature of Parkinson's disease (PD) with implications for falls risk. Visual cues improve gait in PD, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Evidence suggests that attention and vision play an important role; however, the relative contribution from each is unclear. Measurement of visual exploration (specifically saccade frequency) during gait allows for real-time measurement of attention and vision. Understanding how visual cues influence visual exploration may allow inferences of the underlying mechanisms to response which could help to develop effective therapeutics. This study aimed to examine saccade frequency during gait in response to a visual cue in PD and older adults and investigate the roles of attention and vision in visual cue response in PD. A mobile eye-tracker measured saccade frequency during gait in 55 people with PD and 32 age-matched controls. Participants walked in a straight line with and without a visual cue (50 cm transverse lines) presented under single task and dual-task (concurrent digit span recall). Saccade frequency was reduced when walking in PD compared to controls; however, visual cues ameliorated saccadic deficit. Visual cues significantly increased saccade frequency in both PD and controls under both single task and dual-task. Attention rather than visual function was central to saccade frequency and gait response to visual cues in PD. In conclusion, this study highlights the impact of visual cues on visual exploration when walking and the important role of attention in PD. Understanding these complex features will help inform intervention development.
Author(s): Stuart S, Lord S, Galna B, Rochester L
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: European Journal of Neuroscience
Year: 2018
Volume: 47
Issue: 7
Pages: 769-778
Print publication date: 01/04/2018
Online publication date: 12/02/2018
Acceptance date: 06/02/2018
ISSN (print): 0953-816X
ISSN (electronic): 1460-9568
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.13864
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13864
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