Supplementary motor area microstructure defines the extent of gait impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Gait disorders and freezing of gait are challenging symptoms in Parkinson's disease. Cortical gait centers as the supplementary motor area appear to be relevant in gait control. We hypothesize that diffusion-MRI microstructural markers in this area are associated with quantitative gait performance in participants with Parkinson's Disease. Retrospective clinical data showed that lower fractional anisotropy in the right supplementary motor cortex was associated with better performance in various bilateral quantitative gait parameters at normal speed, maximal velocity, and especially during cognitively demanding conditions as dual-tasking. Gait performance did not correlate with cortical thickness. In contrast, the correlation between gait and microstructure in the supplementary motor area could indicate that diffusion-MRI might function as a clinical biomarker. The added value might support the clinical prognosis and aid in the development of new interventions, such as localized and personalized stimulation techniques.
Authors
- Maxim Bester (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4007-5755)
- Götz Thomalla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4785-1449)
- Fanny Quandt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7042-6785)
- Tim Magnus
- Bastian Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2434-1822)
- Paweł P. Wróbel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6047-3623)
- Maja Kirsten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2963-5996)
- Yogesh Rathi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9946-2314)
- Alessandro Gulberti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0538-5109)
- Ofer Pasternak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7078-6446)
- Focko L. Higgen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8245-0299)
- Einar Goebell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3199-551X)
- Monika Pötter‐Nerger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7680-2147)
- Robert Schulz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-899X)
- Annika Peter
Institutions
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Parkinson s Disease
- Published
- 2025-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-01119-4
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.36
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf