Brown, Lesley

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    Obstacle crossing among people with Parkinson disease is influenced by concurrent music
    (U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, 2010) Brown, Lesley; de Bruin Nutley, Natalie; Doan, Jon B.; Suchowersky, Oksana; Hu, Bin
    Multitasking situations exacerbate gait impairments and increase the risk of falling among people with Parkinson disease (PD). This study compared obstacle negotiation among 10 subjects with PD and 10 nonparkinsonian control (CTRL) subjects in two test conditions differentiated by the presence of music played through a personal music player. Subjects walked the length of a 10 m walkway at a self-selected pace, crossing a 0.15 m obstacle placed at the midpoint of the walkway. The results indicated that subjects with PD crossed the obstacle slower than CTRL subjects and that concurrent music differentially altered obstacle crossing behaviors for the CTRL subjects and subjects with PD. Subjects with PD further decreased obstacle-crossing velocities and maintained spatial parameters in the music condition. In contrast, CTRL subjects maintained all spatiotemporal parameters of obstacle crossing with music. The alterations to crossing behaviors observed among the subjects with PD support our previous suggestion that listening to music while walking may be an attentionally demanding task.
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    Walking with music is a safe and viable tool for gait training in Parkinson's disease: the effect of a 13-week feasibility study on single and dual task walking
    (Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2010) de Bruin Nutley, Natalie; Doan, Jon B.; Turnbull, George; Suchowersky, Oksana; Bonfield, Stephan; Hu, Bin; Brown, Lesley
    This study explored the viability and efficacy of integrating cadence-matched, salientmusic into a walking intervention for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Twenty-two people with PD were randomised to a control (CTRL, n = 11) or experimental (MUSIC, n = 11) group. MUSIC subjects walked with an individualised music playlist three times a week for the intervention period. Playlists were designed to meet subject’s musical preferences. In addition, the tempo of the music closely matched (±10– 15 bpm) the subject’s preferred cadence. CTRL subjects continued with their regular activities during the intervention. The effects of training accompanied by “walking songs” were evaluated using objective measures of gait score. The MUSIC group improved gait velocity, stride time, cadence, and motor symptom severity following the intervention. This is the first study to demonstrate that music listening can be safely implemented amongst PD patients during home exercise.
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    Functional improvements associated with upper extremity motor stimulation in individuals with Parkinson's disease
    (Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, 2015) Bartoshyk, Patrick J.; De Bruin, Natalie; Brown, Lesley A.; Doan, Jon B.
    Background: While traditional neurotherapy promotes motor function in people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), the benefits may be limited by compounding physical, cognitive, and attentional barriers. Since the nontraditional exercise of ice-skating is proving to positively influence motor function and postural control, the purpose of this study was to explore whether the addition of an upper body sensory-driven motor coordination task (stickhandling) would provide upper extremity neuromotor benefit among people with moderate PD. Methods: Seven non-PD control (CTRL) and 22 PD (14 ON-ICE, 8 OFF-ICE) participants completed three trials of a reaching-to-eat (fine motor) task and a button-push (gross motor) task, PRE-and POST-completion of two dynamic – either on- or off-ice – stickhandling tasks. Reaching-to-eat and button-push scores were compared between time periods (PRE, POST) and groups (CTRL, PD ON-ICE, PD OFF-ICE). Results: CTRL participants demonstrated higher scores when compared to the PD groups. Both PD groups demonstrated an improvement in reaching-to-eat and button-push scores immediately following the intervention. Conclusions: These findings suggest that sport-derived exercise programs may provide neuromotor benefit to people living with PD.