Abstract
Slowed gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be improved when patients synchronize footsteps to isochronous metronome cues, but limited retention of such improvements suggest that permanent cueing regimes are needed for long-term improvements. If so, music might make permanent cueing regimes more pleasant, improving adherence; however, music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the “beat,” which might be difficult for patients with PD who tend to show weak beat perception. One solution may be to use high-groove music, which has high beat salience that may facilitate synchronization, and affective properties, which may improve motivation to move. As a first step to understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults. Synchronization performance and gait parameters were assessed as healthy young adults with strong or weak beat perception synchronized to low-groove music, high-groove music, and metronome cues. High-groove music was predicted to elicit better synchronization than low-groove music, due to its higher beat salience. Two musical tempi, or rates, were used: (1) preferred tempo: beat rate matched to preferred step rate and (2) faster tempo: beat rate adjusted to 22.5% faster than preferred step rate. For both strong and weak beat-perceivers, synchronization performance was best with metronome cues, followed by high-groove music, and worst with low-groove music. In addition, high-groove music elicited longer and faster steps than low-groove music, both at preferred tempo and at faster tempo. Low-groove music was particularly detrimental to gait in weak beat-perceivers, who showed slower and shorter steps compared to uncued walking. The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation.
Highlights
Music and rhythm engage the motor system (Grahn and Brett, 2007; Chen et al, 2008a; Stupacher et al, 2013), ostensibly through extensive connections between the auditory and motor areas of the brain (Petrides and Pandya, 2006)
The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation
In Parkinson’s disease (PD), a disease characterized by death of basal ganglia dopaminergic neurons (Kish, 1988), rhythmic auditory cues show promise in improving gait impairments, which are not treated by pharmacological interventions (Rubinstein et al, 2002; Lim et al, 2005)
Summary
Music and rhythm engage the motor system (Grahn and Brett, 2007; Chen et al, 2008a; Stupacher et al, 2013), ostensibly through extensive connections between the auditory and motor areas of the brain (Petrides and Pandya, 2006). The propensity of music to facilitate movement (Rossignol and Jones, 1976) has been exploited in gait rehabilitation, in which rhythmic auditory cues such as metronome tones are used to regulate movement (Rubinstein et al, 2002; Lim et al, 2005). Patients typically show slower gait than healthy controls, mainly because they have shorter stride lengths (Morris et al, 1994a), which result from deficient internal regulation of movement amplitude and movement timing (Morris et al, 1994a). If permanent auditory cues are required, music, compared to metronome cues, might better motivate patients to adhere to rehabilitation regimes (de Bruin et al, 2010). Little is known about exactly what auditory features of music, or even what task instructions, are most important to achieve the best functional outcomes in music-based therapies, limiting clinicians’ ability to optimize music for gait interventions
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