Objective: To assess whether rhythmic disturbances in three different domains (i.e., oro-motor, finger tapping and gait domains) are related in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and to examine whether motor rhythmic performance across these domains can be predicted by rhythm perception, a measure of central rhythmic processing not confounded with motor output.

Background: Individuals with PD manifest rhythmic impairments in a variety of motor tasks such as i) oral diadochokinesis [1], ii) finger tapping [2], and iii) gait [3]. These motor rhythmic deficits may result from a central disorder spanning across effectors and tasks. This hypothesis is appealing as it would provide a parsimonious account of a variety of rhythm disorders in PD, and has consequences for rhythm-based interventions.

Method: Twenty-two PD patients (mean age: 69.5, SD: 5.44) performed three rhythmic motor tasks: an oral diadochokinesis task (i.e., repetition of a pseudoword pataka), a finger tapping task (i.e., synchronization to metronomic and musical rhythms), and a gait task (walking on a computerized walkway). Correlational analyses were used for assessing relationships between the three motor rhythmic skills. Finally, we tested whether rhythm perception predicts rhythmic variability in the three motor domains with logistic regression models.

Results: Variability in motor tasks (inter-syllable, inter-tap, and inter-stride time error) is related in the three rhythmic domains, as indicated by correlation tests (with rhos ranging from .50 to .55). Logistic regression models showed that rhythm perception (i.e., non-motor rhythmic skills) can predict rhythmic variability in each of the three motor domains: i) oro-motor domain (P = 0.013), ii) finger tapping domain (P = 0.010), and iii) gait domain (P = 0.043). These results remained unchanged when controlling for production rate (Ps > 0.05).

Conclusion: Rhythm deficits in different motor domains in PD are related, and may be underpinned by impaired central rhythm mechanisms, as assessed by a rhythm perception task. Beyond their theoretical implications, these findings have important clinical consequences as they offer the practitioners the possibility to assess the effect of rhythm-based interventions in PD within and across motor rhythm domains [4].

References: [1] S. Skodda, A. Flasskamp, U. Schlegel, Instability of syllable repetition as a model for impaired motor processing: is Parkinson’s disease a “rhythm disorder”?, J. Neural Transm. 117 (2010) 605–612. doi:10.1007/s00702-010-0390-y. [2] C.E. Benoit, S. Dalla Bella, N. Farrugia, H. Obrig, S. Mainka, S.A. Kotz, Musically cued Gait-training improves both perceptual and motor timing in Parkinson’s disease, Front. Hum. Neurosci. 8 (2014). doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00494. [3] M.W. Creaby, M.H. Cole, Gait characteristics and falls in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Parkinsonism Rel. D. 57 (2018) 1–8. [4] V. Bégel, A. Seilles, S. Dalla Bella, Rhythm Workers: A music-based serious game for training rhythm skills. Music & Science, 1 (2018) 1-16. doi: 10.1177/2059204318794369

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-general-impaired-rhythm-system-underpins-oro-motor-manual-and-gait-rhythmic-disturbances-in-parkinsons-disease/