Does exergaming promote neurofunctional changes in Parkinson´s disease? A pilot clinical study

Abstract

Introduction: Previous studies have demonstrated beneficial effects in people with Parkinson´s disease trained with exergames. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of them evaluated whether these effects are sustained by neurofunctional changes. Objective: To evaluate neurofunctional effects of a training, by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging, in people with Parkinson´s disease. Methods: This study was a blind, randomized, and controlled pilot clinical trial with crossover design. The participants were submitted to an evaluation including cognitive performance and functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after  the Wii^TM or control trainings. Trainings were applied for 10 days, in two consecutive weeks. Participants starting with Wii^TM training were then moved to the control training and vice versa. A wash-out period of 45 days between the trainings was respected. Results: Memory, executive and visuo-spatial functions, and attention were significantly improved compared to baseline (p < 0.05). No differences were observed in cognition compared to the control training. Though not significant, results of functional magnetic resonance imaging analyses suggested that Wii^TM training could promote improvements on the brain functional connectivity especially in areas involved in motor execution, planning, visual, memory and somatosensory functions. Conclusion: In people with Parkinson´s disease, an intensive Wii^TM training improved cognitive performance that underlined neurofunctional changes in areas involved in cognitive processing.