Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) is a severely disabling neurodegenerative disorder. The akinesia symptom dramatically alters the lifestyle of individuals with IPD. A within-subjects design was used to study the effects of sensory stimulation on akinesia. Twelve male, non-institutionalized parkinsonian subjects were tested. All demonstrated akinesia and were right-handed. Reaction time and movement time measures were recorded on an Apple 2e computer. The task entailed reached from a release switch to a target switch while three sensory stimuli (visual, auditory and concurrent visual and auditory) were used randomly during three different environmental conditions (open, physical constraint and stress). It was found that the concurrent use of visual and auditory stimuli in an open environmental condition significantly decreased the movement times and total reaction times. Therefore the use of sensory stimulation improves a reaching movement in subjects with IPD. The use of such stimuli would alter the person's disabilities and improve their functional status.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.60592 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | Toomey, Moira |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (School of Physical and Occupational Therapy.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001243316, proquestno: AAIMM72194, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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