Action Observation Treatment in Parkinson's Patients

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of the study is to assess the role of Action Observation Treatment (AOT) and Motor Imagery (MI) in the rehabilitation of Parkinson's disease patients, as compared to a control condition. Main outcome measures will be the results in two functional scales (FIM, UPDRS) and kinematics parameters obtained from gait analysis. Data at two months and six months follow up, respectively, will be also collected.

Official Title
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Action Observation Treatment and Motor Imagery as Rehabilitation Tools in Parkinson's Disease Patients

Conditions
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Parkinson

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: AOT
* Behavioral: MI


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Parkinson disease patients on Hoehn and Yahr 3-4 Exclusion Criteria: Mini-Mental State Examination < 24 Fluent aphasic patients Apraxia Neglect major neuropsychiatric disorders
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: AOT<br>This group will observe videos depicting daily actions and afterwards they will execute the seen actions | Behavioral: AOT<br>* During action observation, participants observe different daily actions (e.g. reading a newspaper; drinking an espresso) divided into up to four motor segments.<br>|
| Experimental: MI<br>This group will imagine motorically the same action as the first group and afterwards they will execute the imagined actions | Behavioral: MI<br>* During motor imagery, participants imagine themselves performing the same daily actions as in AOT in the absence of motor output<br>|
| No Intervention: Control<br>This group will neither observe nor imagine actions, but simply observe videos with no motor content. Afterwards they will execute the same actions as in AOT and MI. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| change in the functional status of the patient | to assess the change in the functional status of the patient, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) will be used. FIM consists in a 7-point scale (1 = <25% independence; total assistance required, 7 = 100% independence), and it can detect changes in the patient's status in 18 categories, focusing on motor and cognitive function. Functional patients' status will assess before treatment, within one week after the end of the treatment (after treatment) and two months' follow up. | Before treatment, within one week after treatment, two months' follow up | 
| change in Parkinson disease motor symptoms | to assess the change in motor status of the patient, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) will be used, and it consists in a 5-point scale (0 = no signs; 4 = severe). UPDRS will be administered before treatment, within one week after the end of the treatment (after treatment) and two months' follow up. | Before treatment, within one week after treatment, two months' follow up | 
| change in kinematic parameters of the gait (velocity, footing, pace, step length) | to assess the change of patient's gait parameters, the kinematic analysis will be used (i.e. gait analysis). The gait analysis allows to detect fine-grain changes in kinematic parameters of the movement, through a non-invasive methodology. Gait analysis will be performed before treatment, within one week after the end of the treatment (after treatment) and two months' follow up. | Before treatment, within one week after treatment, two months' follow up | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Action Observation Treatment, Motor Imagery, Randomized Controlled Study