Context-dependent movement, task-relevant sensory filtering and approaches to Parkinson's training

Kearney, Joshua A. ORCID: 0000-0001-5475-3727 (2023). Context-dependent movement, task-relevant sensory filtering and approaches to Parkinson's training. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

People with Parkinson’s disease experience motor symptoms that are affected by sensory information in the environment. Sensory attenuation is a phenomenon that describes the modulation of sensory input caused by motor intent. This appears to be altered in Parkinson’s and may index important sensorimotor processes underpinning Parkinsonian symptoms. Seemingly disparate results in sensory attenuation experiments are reconciled with an emphasis on task-relevance in the modulation of sensory input.
Additionally, findings from original psychophysics and motor learning experiments are presented. A Cornsweet illusion task is used to elucidate context- dependent perception, which increases with age. Adaptation effects also occur in response to contextual cue manipulation, with implications further afield for training techniques. The subsequent motor learning experiment altered sensory information availability during a pegboard task. The results demonstrated that altered sensory input prompts strategy change, but no unique enhancements in motor skill performance. An interdisciplinary approach is then used critique some of the broader themes in neuroscience that relate to the questions explored in this thesis.
Collectively, this work illuminates the dual effect of basal ganglia dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease: a reduced capacity to filter task-relevant signals harms the ability to integrate contextual cues, just when such cues are required to effectively navigate an environment. Further, the interdependencies of action, perception and cognition are highlighted. Current motor control theories are brought into question, whereby sensory attenuation is reframed as context-dependent perception instead of a result of probabilistic integration. A move toward effective training principles is attempted in this context.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):