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EFFECTS OF VISION AND COGNITIVE DEMAND ON POSTURAL STABILITY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

SCHMIT, JENNIFER MARIE

Abstract Details

2003, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences : Psychology.
Postural instability is a primary symptom of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). Falling, loss of mobility, and restriction of activity due to postural instability have a major influence on the health and quality of life of PD patients. Presently, clinical measurement of postural stability in PD is crude. Patient recovery to a sudden, backward pull of the shoulders by the physician (the retropulsion test) typically serves as an index of postural instability. The retropulsion test is subjective and there are presently no standards to govern its administration. In addition to the lack of sophistication in clinical measurement, little is known about factors that interact with postural instability to threaten balance for people with PD. The purpose of the present study was to employ static posturography (objective, quantitative measurements of naturally occurring postural sway obtained from a computerized biomechanics system called a force platform) to determine how visual perception and the attentional demands of a visuo-spatial cognitive task affected postural stability in PD. The results of the study indicated that the postural sway of PD patients in H-Y stage 3 (Hoehn & Yahr, 1967; H-Y stage 3 is a fairly advanced stage of PD at which balance and gait problems appear) was more variable than that of elderly, healthy controls. In addition, a time series technique called recurrence quantification analysis revealed that the spatiotemporal profile of postural sway for PD patients reflected greater recurrence (auto-correlation), determinism, mathematical stability, and complexity in the anterior-posterior sway direction. Recurrence was also higher (in the medial-lateral sway direction) with vision than without vision. No effects of the cognitive task were found. The results suggest that the novel combination of static posturography and RQA reliably differentiated PD patients from control participants.
Dr. Michael A. Riley (Advisor)
78 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • SCHMIT, J. M. (2003). EFFECTS OF VISION AND COGNITIVE DEMAND ON POSTURAL STABILITY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1054297687

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • SCHMIT, JENNIFER. EFFECTS OF VISION AND COGNITIVE DEMAND ON POSTURAL STABILITY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE. 2003. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1054297687.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • SCHMIT, JENNIFER. "EFFECTS OF VISION AND COGNITIVE DEMAND ON POSTURAL STABILITY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1054297687

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)