MedTrace Logo

Motor Learning in Parkinson's Disease: Underlying Effective Connectivity and Influential Factors

NCT04269577 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2023-11-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by severe motor symptoms that can only be partially alleviated by medication. It was shown previously that rehabilitation is an important therapeutic supplement for micrographia in early disease. However, what is unknown is how motor learning impacts on the underlying neural networks in patients with different disease progression and how this interacts with dopaminergic medication. Furthermore, difficulties with upper limb motor control has a severe impact on the daily lives of PD patients since fine motor skills become increasingly important for the use of smartphones and tablets. Therefore, the current project will include a newly developed Swipe-Slide Pattern test, resembling the pattern codes used to unlock smartphones and tablets. This task will be used to determine learning-induced neuroplasticity of cortico-striatal effective connectivity across disease stages in PD. Using a combination of behavioral assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging, the investigators aim to contribute to the understanding of upper limb motor learning in patients with PD for the development of individualized rehabilitation programs.

Conditions

  • Parkinson Disease

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

SSP training

Participants will practice the Swipe Slide Pattern (SSP) task. On day 1, participants perform two runs of the SSP-task (only one pattern), each lasting approx. 10 min, within an MR scanner. During each run, nine trials of 30s are performed, alternated with rest periods of 14s. In addition, instructions are provided before each trial (i.e. view of the pattern, 4s), as well as an answer option (i.e. participants have circle a random number from zero to nine, 6s). For the following four days (day 2-5), participants will continue practice of the SSP-task at home. During the at-home-sessions, participants will perform nine trials of 12 patterns each, alternated with rest periods of 14s. Instruction are also included. During at home practice, the same pattern as during scans is included, in combination with two new patterns.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Research Foundation Flanders

    collaborator OTHER

  • KU Leuven

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Alice Nieuwboer, PhD · KU Leuven

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
50 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2021-05-10
Primary Completion
2024-03-31
Completion
2024-03-31

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04269577 on ClinicalTrials.gov