Influence of Autocorrelated Rhythmic Auditory Stimulations on Parkinson’s Disease Gait Variability: Comparison With Other Auditory Rhythm Variabilities and Perspectives

• Main Authors: Alexis Lheureux, Thibault Warlop, Charline Cambier, Baptiste Chemin, Gaëtan Stoquart, Christine Detrembleur, Thierry Lejeune
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-12-01
• Series: Frontiers in Physiology
• Subjects: gait disorders; rhythmic auditory stimulations; cueing; gait variability; long range autocorrelations; Parkinson’s disease
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.601721/full

Parkinson’s Disease patients suffer from gait impairments such as reduced gait speed, shortened step length, and deterioration of the temporal organization of stride duration variability (i.e., breakdown in Long-Range Autocorrelations). The aim of this study was to compare the effects on Parkinson’s Disease patients’ gait of three Rhythmic Auditory Stimulations (RAS), each structured with a different rhythm variability (isochronous, random, and autocorrelated). Nine Parkinson’s Disease patients performed four walking conditions of 10–15 min each: Control Condition (CC), Isochronous RAS (IRAS), Random RAS (RRAS), and Autocorrelated RAS (ARAS). Accelerometers were used to assess gait speed, cadence, step length, temporal organization (i.e., Long-Range Autocorrelations computation), and magnitude (i.e., coefficient of variation) of stride duration variability on 512 gait cycles. Long-Range Autocorrelations were assessed using the evenly spaced averaged Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (α-DFA exponent). Spatiotemporal gait parameters and coefficient of variation were not modified by the RAS. Long-Range Autocorrelations were present in all patients during CC and ARAS although all RAS conditions altered them. The α-DFA exponents were significantly lower during IRAS and RRAS than during CC, exhibiting anti-correlations during IRAS in seven patients. α-DFA during ARAS was the closest to the α-DFA during CC and within normative data of healthy subjects. In conclusion, Isochronous RAS modify patients’ Long-Range Autocorrelations and the use of Autocorrelated RAS allows to maintain an acceptable level of Long-Range Autocorrelations for Parkinson’s Disease patients’ gait.