Beck, Intzandt & Almeida (2018)
Gait, or walking, is a well-learned series of movements, achieved with little attention (so mostly subconscious), and facilitated by the basal ganglia. In particular, the dorsal striatum is implicated in the process, with loops to and from the sensorimotor cortex. The dorsal striatum is also the initial area of degeneration in Parkinson’s Disease, and so it makes sense that people with PD shift to a more conscious control of walking.
However, controlling gait more consciously increases the demand on attentional resources. As a result, when walking while completing a secondary task, people with PD display worsened gait – increased step time, percentage of time spent in double support, step-to-step variability, and decreased step length.
Cues can influence how movements are controlled. External cues, those that direct attention externally to the effect of an action on the environment, utilise automatic process, and sensorimotor cortical areas. Conversely, internal cues direct attention to one’s own limb movement, relying on conscious processes that linked to the frontal cortex. Continue reading “External exercise cues and dual task ability during gait in people with PD”