Effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation on the gait of patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation on the gait of patients with Parkinson's disease(PD). Methods Eight patients with PD and six healthy control subjects were studied.All subjects walked as usaal for 2 min and then Walked for 2 rain with rhythmic auditory attentional stimulation with a frequency 10% faster than their basic pace.The gait parameters in the two walking conditions were measured with three-dimension motion analysis equipment.In addition,executive function was evaluated using a frontal assessment battery (FAB)scale and the Stroop-3 test. Results In both walking conditions,average stride length and velocity were significantly lower in the PD patients than among the controls.The metronome at the higher frequency increased the cadence and stride velocity significantly in the controls.but in the PD patients it was associated with increased ca dence but decreased stride length.With auditory stimulation,the variability of velocity decreased significantly in the controls,but the variability in stride length increased significantly in the PD patients.Even with the auditory stimulation,the variability in step length,stride length and velocity were still significantly higher in the PD patients than among the controls.Executive dysfunction was clearly evident in the PD patients.Stroop-3 error rates were significantly negatively correlated with step length in the condition involving auditory stimulation.Conclusion Auditory attentional stimulation at a higher frequency becomes a new cognitive load for PD patients,and it cannot improve their gait.This may be related to executive dysfunction. Key words: Auditory attentional stimulation; Parkinson's disease; Gait