Abstract
The role of each brain hemisphere in perception has been postulated as key factor in visuospatial dysfunction in PD, since right-sided basal ganglia damage might affect connections to right hemisphere areas that are known to be involved in visuospatial tasks. This study aimed to investigate whether the configuration of corridor walls would affect perceptual judgment and gait of patients with predominant right (RPD) or left (LPD) symptoms. 11 RPD, 15 LPD, and 15 control participants used an unmarked tape measure to estimate the width of the distal opening of a corridor in two conditions: parallel (PW) and narrowing (NW) walls. Later, they walked at baseline, and through the corridors PW and NW. No difference was found between RPD and LPD in perceptual judgment or gait. Participants made more errors when judging PW, and PD patients were more variable in their judgment regardless of condition. Group by condition interactions were found for gait velocity and step length (p<0.05). While controls walked faster than PD and increased velocity from baseline to both corridor conditions, PD groups did not change velocity across conditions. Controls also walked with larger steps than PD, increasing step length while walking through both corridors, while PD groups decreased step length in PW. In conclusion, classifying PD patients according to their most affected side may not reflect the loss of connectivity between basal ganglia and brain areas responsible for visuospatial processing.
