Pallidal and motor cortical interactions determine gait initiation dynamics in Parkinson's disease.

Gait initiation is a fundamental human task, requiring one or more anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) prior to stepping. Deviations in amplitude and timing of APAs exist in Parkinson's disease (PD), causing dysfunctional postural control which increases the risk of falls. The motor cortex and basal ganglia have been implicated in the regulation of postural control, however, their dynamics during gait initiation, relationship to APA metrics, and response to pharmacotherapy such as levodopa are unknown.

Modeling and Optimizing Deep Brain Stimulation to Enhance Gait in Parkinson's Disease: Personalized Treatment with Neurophysiological Insights.

Although high-frequency deep brain stimulation (DBS) is effective at relieving many motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), its effects on gait can be variable and unpredictable. This is due to 1) a lack of standardized and robust metrics for gait assessment in PD patients, 2) the challenges of performing a thorough evaluation of all the stimulation parameters space that can alter gait, and 3) a lack of understanding for impacts of stimulation on the neurophysiological signatures of walking. In this study, our goal was to develop a data-driven approach to identify optimal, personalized DBS stimulation parameters to improve gait in PD patients and identify the neurophysiological signature of improved gait.

Unraveling the threads of stability: A review of the neurophysiology of postural control in Parkinson's disease.

Postural instability is a detrimental and often treatment-refractory symptom of Parkinson's disease. While many existing studies quantify the biomechanical deficits among various postural domains (static, anticipatory, and reactive) in this population, less is known regarding the neural network dysfunctions underlying these phenomena. This review will summarize current studies on the cortical and subcortical neural activities during postural responses in healthy subjects and those with Parkinson's disease.

Altered motor network activation and functional connectivity in adult Tourette's syndrome.

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a developmental neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics as well as psychiatric comorbidities. Disturbances of the fronto-striatal-thalamic pathways responsible for motor control and impulse inhibition have been previously described in other studies. Although differences in motor performance are well recognized, imaging data elucidating the neuronal correlates are scarce.