Visual Cues Promote Head First Strategies During Walking Turns in Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

Anticipatory eye movement promotes cranio-caudal sequencing during walking turns. Clinical groups, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), do not produce anticipatory eye movements, leading to increased risk of falls. Visual cues may promote anticipatory eye movement by guiding the eyes into the turn. This study examined if visual cues could train anticipatory eye movement. Ten neurotypical young adults and 6 adults with PD completed three blocks of walking trials. Trials were blocked by visual condition: non-cued baseline turns (5 trials), visually cued turns (10 trials), and non-cued post turns (5 trials). A Delsys Trigno (Delsys, Boston, MA) recorded horizontal saccades at 1024 Hz via electrooculography (EOG). Two Optotrak cameras (Northern Digital Inc., ON, Canada) captured body segment kinematics at 120 Hz. Initiation of segment rotation with respect to ipsilateral foot contact (IFC1) prior to the turn was calculated. Neurotypical young adults (NYA) produced typical cranio-caudal rotation sequences during walking turns. Eyes led (407 ms prior to IFC1), followed by the head (50 ms prior to IFC1), then trunk and pelvis. In contrast, PD produced no anticipatory eye or segment movement at baseline. During pre-trials the eyes moved 96 ms after IFC1 and segment movement was initiated by the pelvis followed by trunk and head segments. After visual cue training however, PD produced anticipatory eye movements 161 ms prior to IFC1, followed by the head 88 ms following IFC1 but ahead of trunk and pelvis onset. These results suggest visual cues assist in producing cranio-caudal control during walking turns in PD.