TY - CONF

T1 - Training the Brain to Mimic Medication: An Investigation of the Feasibility and Effectiveness of Home-Based "Brain Training" as a Non-Pharmacological Treatment for Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.

AU - Cooke, Andrew

AU - MacLeod, Catherine

AU - Pritchard, Aaron

AU - Bellomo, Eduardo

AU - Lawrence, Catherine

AU - Martin-Forbes, Pamela

AU - Bracewell, Robert

AU - Linden, David

AU - Mehler, David

AU - Jones, Sally

AU - Hindle, John

PY - 2019/5/25

Y1 - 2019/5/25

N2 - Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with suboptimal movement-related cortical activity and impaired motor function. Pharmacological treatment (e.g., levodopa) can improve movement-related cortical activity and function, but adverse side-effects are common. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of neurofeedback (brain) training as a non-pharmacological way of modifying movement-related cortical activity and improving motor function in PD. Fifteen people with PD (Mage = 67.31 years) completed pre-tests “on” and then “off” medication, three one-hour neurofeedback training sessions, and then a post-test “off” medication. The pre- and post-test sessions comprised a precision handgrip force production task, the Unified PD Rating Scale motor examination, and a quality of life questionnaire. In the neurofeedback sessions we used sensors on the scalp and an auditory tone to record and feedback cortical activity in real-time. The tone was silenced each time participants increased movement-related cortical activity, thereby training them to volitionally produce the activity normally attributed to medication. All sessions occurred in participant homes. Results endorsed the feasibility of the training. Participants completed the trial, with 87% stating that they would recommend neurofeedback to others. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that neurofeedback had a beneficial effect on the time taken to produce target forces during our force production task. Post-hoc comparisons confirmed that the effects of neurofeedback were greater than the effects of medication. There were no effects of neurofeedback on self-reported quality of life or the UPDRS motor examination. It is possible that our neurofeedback protocol benefits movement planning and initiation of voluntary movements, but does not influence during movement control. Future research should include sham-control groups to further interrogate the effects of neurofeedback training, and disentangle genuine effects from those elicited by familiarization or placebo.

AB - Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with suboptimal movement-related cortical activity and impaired motor function. Pharmacological treatment (e.g., levodopa) can improve movement-related cortical activity and function, but adverse side-effects are common. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of neurofeedback (brain) training as a non-pharmacological way of modifying movement-related cortical activity and improving motor function in PD. Fifteen people with PD (Mage = 67.31 years) completed pre-tests “on” and then “off” medication, three one-hour neurofeedback training sessions, and then a post-test “off” medication. The pre- and post-test sessions comprised a precision handgrip force production task, the Unified PD Rating Scale motor examination, and a quality of life questionnaire. In the neurofeedback sessions we used sensors on the scalp and an auditory tone to record and feedback cortical activity in real-time. The tone was silenced each time participants increased movement-related cortical activity, thereby training them to volitionally produce the activity normally attributed to medication. All sessions occurred in participant homes. Results endorsed the feasibility of the training. Participants completed the trial, with 87% stating that they would recommend neurofeedback to others. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that neurofeedback had a beneficial effect on the time taken to produce target forces during our force production task. Post-hoc comparisons confirmed that the effects of neurofeedback were greater than the effects of medication. There were no effects of neurofeedback on self-reported quality of life or the UPDRS motor examination. It is possible that our neurofeedback protocol benefits movement planning and initiation of voluntary movements, but does not influence during movement control. Future research should include sham-control groups to further interrogate the effects of neurofeedback training, and disentangle genuine effects from those elicited by familiarization or placebo.

M3 - Poster

T2 - International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics - European Region Congress

Y2 - 23 May 2019 through 25 May 2019

ER -