Abstract #3356

Brain Activation of Parkinsons Patients During a Delayed Cued Finger Movement Task a Preliminary Study

Jing-Huei Lee^1,2, David M. Henkel¹, Judd M. Storrs¹, James C. Eliassen^2,3, Wen-Jang Chu^2,3, Noel Burton⁴, Alberto J. Espay⁴

¹Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA; ²Center for Imaging Research, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA; ³Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA; ⁴Neurology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

In this study, we investigate motor preparation impairment in PD patients using an fMRI measurement with a delayed cued finger movement paradigm. The result shows that there are no significant differences between PD and healthy control in motor execution activation of all regions. However, many brain regions including putamen, thalamus, and cerebellum shows significant differences during motor preparations. We have demonstrated that the delayed cued finger movement paradigm can effectively study the motor preparation deficit in patients with PD, which may be a potential imaging biomarker for PD.