The Effect of Sensory Reweighting on Postural Control and Cortical Activity in Parkinson’s Disease

Research Objectives: Balance necessitates the integration of visual, somatosensory, and vestibular inputs, controlled cortically. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the contributions of these systems to postural control and cortical activity using a sensory reweighting approach in participants with Parkinson’s disease (PD) versus controls.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study examining changes in postural control and cortical activity under various sensory conditions. The study utilized a sensory organization test in virtual reality (VR-SOT) while recording cortical activity through electroencephalography (EEG).

Setting: The study was conducted at the Parkinson's disease and movement disorder clinic and the data analysis was done at the Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, part of the University of Kansas Medical School, utilizing specialized equipment to assess sensory integration and postural control.

Participants: Ten participants diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (age: 72 ± 9; 3 women; Hoehn & Yahr stage: 2 [1.5 – 2.50]) and eleven control participants (age: 70 ± 3; 4 women) were involved in this study.

Interventions: Participants underwent a sensory organization test in a virtual reality setting. Conditions included testing on a stable platform and a foam platform under different visual conditions (eyes open, darkened VR, and moving VR environment).

Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measures included displacement in the center of pressure (COP) and changes in EEG alpha power and theta/beta ratio across different sensory conditions.

Results: Participants with Parkinson’s Disease exhibited greater COP displacement and cortical activity in specified conditions, indicating challenges in sensory reweighting compared to controls.

Conclusions: The study concludes that Parkinson’s Disease significantly affects sensory reweighting in postural control, underscoring the need for specialized balance training that emphasizes sensory integration in rehabilitation settings.

Author(s) Disclosures: No conflicts of interest were reported by the authors. The study received funding from the Mabel A. Woodyard Fellowship in Neurodegenerative Disorders and support from the NIH T32 HD057850 Kansas University Training Program in Neurological and Rehabilitation Sciences.