Cognition affects gait adaptation after split-belt treadmill training in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND

Split-belt treadmill (SBTM) training has been proposed to improve gait symmetry and overall gait performance of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether patient's baseline features affect gait adaptation to SBTM in PD with freezing of gait (FOG).

METHODS

Twenty participants with idiopathic PD and treatment-resistant FOG underwent several clinical assessments including the Toronto Cognitive Assessment (TorCA) prior to treadmill training. Velocity of the treadmill was adjusted to over-ground walking speed. During SBTM training, the belt velocity on the least-affected side was reduced by 25%.

RESULTS

Participants who adapted to SBTM training demonstrated cognitively intact TorCA scores (p < 0.001), particularly intact working memory (p < 0.001). After-effects correlated with normal total TorCA (p = 0.02), working memory and visuospatial (p < 0.001) function.

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive impairment, particularly impaired working memory, reduces gait adaptation and after-effects in PD with FOG. This is informative for trials studying prolonged effects of SBTM training in FOG.