Study Finds Imagining Movements is Challenging for People with Parkinson’s

n addition to the well-known motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, like stiffness, tremors, and slow movements, a new study shows that people with Parkinson’s also struggle with “motor imagery” – the mental process of imagining a movement before actually doing it. This difficulty is particularly noticeable for the side of the body most affected by the disease. Kathryn Lambert, the lead author and a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta, explains, “Even when people with Parkinson’s think about moving, their perception can be inaccurate, especially on the more affected side.” This can lead to increased risks of tripping or falling, as the mental image they rely on may not match reality. The ability to picture a movement in the mind is a crucial part of how our brain prepares to move. Before making a movement, our brain quickly gathers sensory information about our body’s position and plans out the steps. But Parkinson’s can impair this process, especially when it affects the brain’s perception of body position (proprioception) and movement awareness (kinesthesia). In this study, 38 participants with Parkinson’s were asked to imagine and then perform a simple movement – moving blocks from one box to another. Researchers noticed that when using their more affected side, participants were more likely to misjudge how long the movement would take and tended to overestimate their speed, resulting in slower, less accurate movements. The findings suggest that Parkinson’s patients imagine movements differently depending on which side of the body they’re focusing on. For the more affected side, the imagined movements are less accurate and take longer, possibly due to side-specific difficulties with body awareness and movement perception. These motor imagery difficulties could worsen movement issues for people with Parkinson’s. However, certain rehabilitation approaches may help. For example, using visual aids like watching themselves on video or listening to music that sets the pace for walking may help Parkinson’s patients better align their movements with their intentions.