Multi-Limb Dual-Task Control in Parkinson's Disease

People with Parkinson disease commonly experience difficulty driving, which requires the arms and legs to do different tasks simultaneously. Driving difficulties can lead to isolation, depression, loss of independence and mobility, and increased incidence of car accidents. Through understanding the impact of Parkinson disease on mechanisms underlying attention and multi-limb control, training and rehabilitation programs can better focus on the needs of drivers with Parkinson disease. The proposed study aims to address this need by taking measures of simulated driving at one point in time. Subjects with PD are tested at a single time point when they are at their "best" point in their day and on another day when they are at their worst and are about to take their next dose of medication. Healthy age-matched subjects are not taking anti-parkinson medication so are tested at only one point.