Motor imagery (MI) has become an increasingly popular rehabilitation tool for individuals with motor impairments. However, it has been proposed that individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PKD) may not benefit from MI due to impairments in motor learning.

This case series study investigated the effects of a 4-week MI training protocol on MI ability in three male individuals with PKD, with an emphasis on examining changes in brain responses.

Training was completed primarily at home, via audio recordings, and emphasized the imagination of functional tasks. MI ability was assessed pre and post-training using subjective and objective imagery questionnaires, alongside an electroencephalographic (EEG) recording of a functional MI task. EEG analysis focused on the mu rhythm, as it has been proposed that suppression in the mu rhythm may reflect MI success and motor learning. Previous research has indicated that mu suppression is impaired in individuals with PKD, and may contribute to the disease’s associated deficits in motor learning.

Following training, all three participants improved in MI accuracy, but reported no notable improvements in MI vividness. Greater suppression in the mu rhythm was also exhibited by all three participants post-training.

These results suggest the participants learned from the training protocol and that individuals with PKD are responsive to MI training. Further research on a larger scale is needed to verify the findings and determine if this learning translates to improvements in motor function.

运动意象 (MI) 已成为运动障碍人士越来越受欢迎的康复工具。然而，有人提出，帕金森病 (PKD) 患者可能由于运动学习障碍而无法从 MI 中受益。

本案例系列研究调查了为期 4 周的 MI 训练方案对三名 PKD 男性患者的 MI 能力的影响，重点是检查大脑反应的变化。

培训主要在家里通过录音完成，并强调功能性任务的想象力。使用主观和客观图像问卷评估训练前和训练后的 MI 能力，以及功能性 MI 任务的脑电图 (EEG) 记录。脑电图分析侧重于 mu 节律，因为有人提出 mu 节律中的抑制可能反映 MI 成功和运动学习。先前的研究表明，PKD 患者的 mu 抑制受损，并可能导致该疾病相关的运动学习缺陷。

培训后，所有三名参与者的 MI 准确性都有所提高，但 MI 生动性没有显着提高。所有三名参与者在训练后也表现出对 mu 节律的更大抑制。

这些结果表明参与者从培训方案中学到了知识，并且 PKD 患者对 MI 培训有反应。需要更大规模的进一步研究来验证这些发现并确定这种学习是否会转化为运动功能的改善。