Objective

Bradykinesia, defined as slowness of movements, is among the most functionally debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Hypoactivation of cortical neurons in supplementary motor area (SMA) has been linked to the progression of bradykinesia symptoms. This study investigated the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over SMA on upper limb movement for individuals diagnosed with PD.

Methods

Thirteen individuals with PD performed a simple reaction time (RT) task involving elbow extension following an auditory go-signal. Sham or anodal tDCS was then applied over SMA for 10 minutes before participants repeated the simple RT task. Participants were unaware of which stimulation they received in each testing session. Electromyography (EMG) and kinematic data were recorded on all trials.

Results

While there were no significant differences in premotor RT, anodal tDCS applied over SMA led to significantly shorter time to peak displacement (p = .015) and movement time (p = .003) compared to pre-tDCS trials, whereas sham stimulation had no impact on these variables.

Conclusions

These results provide evidence that anodal tDCS applied over SMA contributes to improvements in movement kinematics of an upper limb simple RT task.

Significance

Anodal tDCS over SMA could be a useful therapy to mitigate bradykinesia associated with PD.

中文翻译：

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经颅直流电刺激辅助运动区可改善帕金森病患者的上肢运动学

客观的

运动迟缓，定义为运动缓慢，是帕金森病 (PD) 功能最衰弱的症状之一。辅助运动区 (SMA) 中皮层神经元的低激活与运动迟缓症状的进展有关。本研究调查了在 SMA 上应用的经颅直流电刺激 (tDCS) 对诊断为 PD 的个体上肢运动的影响。

方法

13 名患有 PD 的人执行了一项简单的反应时间 (RT) 任务，包括在听觉信号发出后肘部伸展。然后在参与者重复简单的 RT 任务之前，在 SMA 上应用假或阳极 tDCS 10 分钟。参与者不知道他们在每次测试中接受了哪种刺激。在所有试验中都记录了肌电图 (EMG) 和运动学数据。

结果

虽然前运动 RT 没有显着差异，但与前 tDCS 试验相比，在 SMA 上应用的阳极 tDCS 导致达到峰值位移的时间（p = .015）和运动时间（p = .003）显着缩短，而假刺激则没有对这些变量的影响。

结论

这些结果提供的证据表明，在 SMA 上应用阳极 tDCS 有助于改善上肢简单 RT 任务的运动学。

意义

SMA 上的阳极 tDCS 可能是减轻与 PD 相关的运动迟缓的有用疗法。