This site uses cookies to measure how you use the website so it can be updated and improved based on your needs and also uses cookies to help remember the notifications you’ve seen, like this one, so that we don’t show them to you again. If you could also tell us a little bit about yourself, this information will help us understand how we can support you better and make this site even easier for you to use and navigate.

Effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on gait in people with Alzheimer disease

Authors

Wittwer, Joanne E., Webster, Kate E., Hill, Keith

Journal

Archives Of Physical Medicine And Rehabilitation, Volume: 94, No.: 4, Pages.: 718-724

Year of Publication

2013

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether rhythmic music and metronome cues alter spatiotemporal gait measures and gait variability in people with Alzheimer disease (AD).; Design: A repeated-measures study requiring participants to walk under different cueing conditions.; Setting: University movement laboratory.; Participants: Of the people (N=46) who met study criteria (a diagnosis of probable AD and ability to walk 100m) at routine medical review, 30 (16 men; mean age ± SD, 80±6y; revised Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination range, 26-79) volunteered to participate.; Interventions: Participants walked 4 times over an electronic walkway synchronizing to (1) rhythmic music and (2) a metronome set at individual mean baseline comfortable speed cadence.; Main Outcome Measures: Gait spatiotemporal measures and gait variability (coefficient of variation [CV]). Data from individual walks under each condition were combined. A 1-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare uncued baseline, cued, and retest measures.; Results: Gait velocity decreased with both music and metronome cues compared with baseline (baseline, 110.5cm/s; music, 103.4cm/s; metronome, 105.4cm/s), primarily because of significant decreases in stride length (baseline, 120.9cm; music, 112.5cm; metronome, 114.8cm) with both cue types. This was coupled with increased stride length variability compared with baseline (baseline CV, 3.4%; music CV, 4.3%; metronome CV, 4.5%) with both cue types. These changes did not persist at (uncued) retest. Temporal variability was unchanged.; Conclusions: Rhythmic auditory cueing at comfortable speed tempo produced deleterious effects on gait in a single session in this group with AD. The deterioration in spatial gait parameters may result from impaired executive function associated with AD. Further research should investigate whether these instantaneous cue effects are altered with more practice or with learning methods tailored to people with cognitive impairment.; Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bibtex Citation

@article{Wittwer_2013, doi = {10.1016/j.apmr.2012.11.009}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2012.11.009}, year = 2013, month = {apr}, publisher = {Elsevier {BV}}, volume = {94}, number = {4}, pages = {718--724}, author = {Joanne E. Wittwer and Kate E. Webster and Keith Hill}, title = {Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Cueing on Gait in People With Alzheimer Disease}, journal = {Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation} }

Keywords

acoustic stimulation, aged, aged, 80 and over, alzheimer disease, and, cohort studies, cues, female, gait, humans, laboratory, male, measures, metronome, movement, music, physiology, physiopathology, psychology, rehabilitation, rythmic, space perception, spaciotemporal, time perception, treatment outcome, university

Countries of Study

Australia

Types of Dementia

Alzheimer’s Disease

Types of Study

Before and After Study

Type of Outcomes

Other

Settings

Other

Type of Interventions

Non-pharmacological Treatment

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Other