Can people with Parkinson’s Disease Learn Motor Skills?
Description
Description: The goal of rehabilitation in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) is maximizing functional independence ultimately driven by the individual’s motor learning capability. How do clinicians tasked to retrain movement behavior contend with motor learning discrepancies that exist in the literature? Several studies demonstrate impaired learning in PwPD, whereas others show they can learn motor tasks. Consequently, the 2022 clinical practice guidelines by the American Physical Therapy Association does not provide recommendations to promote motor learning in PwPD due to the lack of randomized controlled trials. The purpose of this session is to resolve the aforementioned discrepancies in the motor learning literature and clarify motor learning capability in PwPD. Armed with this revised knowledge, clinicians will make informed decisions regarding physical therapy (PT) interventions. To achieve this aim, we will discuss how: i) neural substrates (e.g., basal ganglia, cerebellum, etc.) vary depending upon task design/setup in the motor learning literature; ii) conditions (task-dependent and PD-specific factors) drive motor learning in PwPD; and iii) PT intervention can be designed to incorporate conditions favorable to motor learning in PwPD. "Identify the discrepancies in the motor learning literature with respect to Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Objectives:
1. Understand the neural substrates associated with various motor learning tasks.
2. Recognize the favorable conditions that promote motor learning in PwPD.
3. Develop physical therapy intervention designed to maximize motor learning capability in PwPD.
About The Speaker(s)
Beth E. Fisher PT, PhD, FAPTA, is a Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California. Dr. Fisher is the director of the Neuroplasticity and Imaging Laboratory, primarily using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to investigate brain-behavior relationships during motor skill learning and motor control in both non-disabled individuals and individuals with neurologic disorders. She previously worked at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center on the Adult Neurology and Brain Injury Services and continues to consult and teach nationally and internationally on current concepts for the treatment of adults with neurological disorders. During her years as a clinician and rehabilitation specialist, it was her greatest ambition to be a part of developing physical therapy interventions that would maximize neural and behavioral recovery in individuals suffering from pathological conditions affecting the nervous system. In 2014, Dr. Fisher became a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association. The FAPTA designation is the highest honor among APTA’s membership categories and signifies the attainment of the topmost level of professional excellence. In 2019, Dr. Fisher was further honored by receiving the John H.P. Maley Lecture Award and had the pleasure of presenting on the recovery potential in individuals with stroke entitled, Beyond Limits: Unmasking Potential Through Movement Discovery. In 2022, the APTA further honored Dr. Fisher by selecting her to receive the Helen J Hislop Award for Outstanding Contributions to Professional Literature.
