Abstract
In persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), synchronizing walking to auditory stimuli such as to music and metronomes have been shown to be feasible, and positive clinical effects have been reported on step frequency and perception of fatigue. Yet, the dynamic interaction during the process of synchronization, such as the coupling of the steps to the beat intervals in music and metronomes, and at different tempi remain unknown. Understanding these interactions are clinically relevant, as it reflects the pattern of step intervals over time, known as gait dynamics. 28 PwMS and 29 healthy controls were instructed to walk to music and metronomes at 6 tempi (0–10% in increments of 2%). Detrended fluctuation analysis was applied to calculate the fractal statistical properties of the gait time-series to quantify gait dynamics by the outcome measure alpha. The results showed no group differences, but significantly higher alpha when walking to music compared to metronomes, and when walking to both stimuli at tempi + 8, + 10% compared to lower tempi. These observations suggest that the precision and adaptation gain differ during the coupling of the steps to beats in music compared to metronomes (continuous compared to discrete auditory structures) and at different tempi (different inter-beat-intervals).
Highlights
In persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), synchronizing walking to auditory stimuli such as to music and metronomes have been shown to be feasible, and positive clinical effects have been reported on step frequency and perception of fatigue
These observations suggest that the precision and adaptation gain differ during the coupling of the steps to beats in music compared to metronomes and at different tempi
We aimed to understand the underlying process of entraining steps to beats in music and metronomes and at different tempi in PwMS compared to healthy controls (HC)
Summary
In persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), synchronizing walking to auditory stimuli such as to music and metronomes have been shown to be feasible, and positive clinical effects have been reported on step frequency and perception of fatigue. The structure of fluctuations in the gait time series when walking in time to rhythmic auditory cues has been studied in healthy individuals and patient with Parkinson’s Disease These studies reported a change in gait dynamics from persistent to anti-persistent behavior when gait was paced by a fixed-tempo metronome as compared to walking without auditory stimuli[19,20,21,22,23,24,25]. Stimuli embedding biological variability (i.e., a metronome with variable inter-beat interval following a fractal structure) resulted in a more persistent gait dynamics in Parkinson’s Disease compared to the isochronous and random-variable (white noise) m etronomes[26]. Given that music generally embeds some degree of long-range correlated temporal v ariability[27,28] as compared to metronomes, a more persistent gait dynamics should be observed when coupling to music
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