Behavioral and neural markers of developing freezing of gait: An important milestone in the evolution of Parkinson’s disease

Freezing of Gait (FOG) is a debilitating phenomenon, common in advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD). Developing FOG is a major risk for falls and is associated with higher anxiety and depression and reduced quality of life. The pathophysiology of FOG is poorly understood and prospective studies designed to explore the mechanisms of FOG development are scarce. Furthermore, given the partial response to medication, the role of preventative or remedial therapy is promising. This project contains two parts - the first a prospective study to investigate the markers of FOG development using a multi-level and multi-domain approach while the second part is a training study which will target a potential marker of FOG development i.e. gait asymmetry to examine whether split-belt training can remediate FOG behaviour as a proof of concept for clinical trials. We expect that this innovative study will provide much needed insights into the development of FOG as well as guide future research aiming to ameliorate the burden of patients with PD.

Publication year:2021

Accessibility:Open