Data_Sheet_1_A Single Bout of Aerobic Exercise Improves Motor Skill Consolidation in Parkinson’s Disease.doc

Background: Motor learning is impaired in Parkinson’s disease (PD), with patients demonstrating deficits in skill acquisition (online learning) and consolidation (offline learning) compared to healthy adults of similar age. Recent studies in young adults suggest that single bouts of aerobic exercise (AEX), performed in close temporal proximity to practicing a new motor task, may facilitate motor skill learning. Thus, we aimed at investigating the effects of a single bout of aerobic cycling on online and offline learning in PD patients.Methods: 17 PD patients (Hoehn and Yahr 1 – 2.5, age: 64.4 ± 6.2) participated in this crossover study. Immediately prior to practicing a novel balance task, patients either performed 30 min of (i) moderate intensity (60–70% VO2max) aerobic cycling, or (ii) seated rest (order counterbalanced). The task required patients to stabilize a balance platform (stabilometer) in a horizontal position for 30 s. For each experimental condition, patients performed 15 acquisition trials, followed by a retention test 24 h later. We calculated time in balance (platform within ± 5° from horizontal) for each trial, and analyzed within- and between-subjects differences in skill acquisition (online learning) and skill retention (offline learning) using mixed repeated-measures ANOVA.Results: We found that the exercise bout had no effect on performance level or online gains during acquisition, despite affecting the time course of skill improvements (larger initial and reduced late skill gains). Aerobic cycling significantly improved offline learning, as reflected by larger 24-h skill retention compared to the rest condition.Conclusion: Our results suggest that a single bout of moderate-intensity AEX is effective in improving motor skill consolidation in PD patients. Thus, acute exercise may represent an effective strategy to enhance motor memory formation in this population. More work is necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms, the optimal scheduling of exercise, and the applicability to other motor tasks. Further, the potential for patients in later disease stages need to be investigated. The study was a priori registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03245216).

背景：帕金森病（PD）患者的运动学习受损，与同龄健康成人相比，他们在技能习得（在线学习）和巩固（离线学习）方面存在缺陷。近期针对年轻人的研究表明，在练习新运动任务时，进行单次有氧运动（AEX）可能有助于运动技能的学习。因此，本研究旨在探讨一次性有氧骑行对帕金森病患者的在线和离线学习的影响。方法：17名帕金森病患者（Hoehn and Yahr 1 – 2.5，年龄：64.4 ± 6.2岁）参与了这项交叉研究。在练习新的平衡任务之前，患者要么进行30分钟的中等强度（60–70% VO2max）有氧骑行，要么进行坐姿休息（顺序随机分配）。该任务要求患者在30秒内稳定一个平衡平台（稳定仪）在水平位置。对于每种实验条件，患者进行15次习得试验，随后在24小时后进行保持测试。我们计算了每次试验的平衡时间（平台在水平线±5°范围内），并使用混合重复测量的方差分析来分析技能习得（在线学习）和技能保持（离线学习）的个体内和个体间差异。结果：我们发现，尽管运动对技能提升的时间进程有影响（初始技能提升更大，晚期技能提升减少），但运动对表现水平或习得过程中的在线收益没有影响。有氧骑行显著提高了离线学习，这体现在与休息条件相比，24小时后的技能保持更大。结论：我们的研究结果提示，一次中等强度的有氧运动可以有效改善帕金森病患者的运动技能巩固。因此，急性运动可能代表了一种增强该人群运动记忆形成的有效策略。为进一步了解其潜在机制、运动的最佳安排以及其适用于其他运动任务的可能性，需要进一步研究。此外，还需探讨晚期疾病阶段患者的潜在应用价值。本研究已在ClinicalTrials.gov（NCT03245216）预先注册。