Advisor(s)
Virendra Mishra
Committee Member(s)
Adam Goodman
David Knight
David Standaert
Kristina Visscher
Mark Bolding
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Document Type
Dissertation
Department (new version)
Psychology
Date of Award
9-11-2025
Abstract
Freezing of gait (FOG) affects anywhere from 20-80% of those with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) with the prevalence increasing with disease severity and length. This detrimental symptom is unpredictable and poorly characterized, which adds to the negative experience of FOG as it is difficult to treat. Using resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI), we set out to determine the functional changes in those with PD-FOG and map onto regions of the brain where signal power, measured using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), synchronicity, as measured by regional homogeneity (ReHo), and strength and direction of intra-network connections as measured by static effective connectivity, are correlated with clinical measures, neuropsychological variables, and physical therapy examinations. In this study, we found widespread changes between those with PD-FOG compared to those with PD without FOG (PD-nFOG) but most notably PD-FOG had increased fALFF in the brain stem, right frontal pole, and the right lingual gyrus. PD-FOG had lower ReHo only in the right cerebellum compared to PD-nFOG but had increased synchronization in the left and right frontal pole, left precuneus, and right cerebellum. There were also significant negative correlations between neuropsychological variables measuring executive function along with physical therapy examinations that require a high cognitive load to complete. These results indicate that there are deficits in the local functionality of areas related to executive functions and motor abilities in those with PD-FOG compared to PD-nFOG.
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Davis, Taylor Robin, "Identifying Functional Regional Changes In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease And Freezing Of Gait" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 7410.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7410
