This study explored the viability and efficacy of integrating cadence-matched, salient music into a walking intervention for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-two people with PD were randomised to a control (CTRL,n=11) or experimental (MUSIC,n=11) group. MUSIC subjects walked with an individualised music playlist three times a week for the intervention period. Playlists were designed to meet subject's musical preferences. In addition, the tempo of the music closely matched (±10–15 bpm) the subject's preferred cadence. CTRL subjects continued with their regular activities during the intervention. The effects of training accompanied by “walking songs” were evaluated using objective measures of gait score. The MUSIC group improved gait velocity, stride time, cadence, and motor symptom severity following the intervention. This is the first study to demonstrate that music listening can be safely implemented amongst PD patients during home exercise.

Mammalian thalamus is a critical site where early perception of sensorimotor signals is dynamically regulated by acetylcholine in a behavioral state-dependent manner. In this study, we examined how synaptic transmission is modulated by acetylcholine in auditory thalamus where sensory relay neurons form parallel lemniscal and nonlemniscal pathways. The former mediates tonotopic relay of acoustic signals, whereas the latter is involved in detecting and transmitting auditory cues of behavioral relevance. We report here that activation of cholinergic muscarinic receptors had opposite membrane effects on these parallel synaptic pathways. In lemniscal neurons, muscarine induced a sustained membrane depolarization and tonic firing by closing a linear K ⁺ conductance. In contrast, in nonlemniscal neurons, muscarine evoked a membrane hyperpolarization by opening a voltage-independent K ⁺ conductance. Depending on the level of membrane hyperpolarization and the strength of local synaptic input, nonlemniscal neurons were either suppressed or selectively engaged in detecting and transmitting synchronized synaptic input by firing a high-frequency spike burst. Immunohistochemical and Western blotting experiments showed that nonlemniscal neurons predominantly expressed M2 muscarinic receptors, whereas lemniscal cells had a significantly higher level of M1 receptors. Our data indicate that cholinergic modulation in the thalamus is pathway-specific. Enhanced cholinergic tone during behavioral arousal or attention may render synaptic transmission in nonlemniscal thalamus highly sensitive to the context of local synaptic activities.

Autism is a behaviourally defined neurodevelopmental disorder with unknown etiology. Recent studies in autistic children consistently point to neuropathological and functional abnormalities in the temporal association cortex (TeA) and its associated structures. It has been proposed that the trajectory of postnatal development in these regions may undergo accelerated maturational alterations that predominantly affect sensory recognition and social interaction. Indeed, the temporal association regions that are important for sensory recognition and social interaction are one of the last regions to mature suggesting a potential vulnerability to early maturation. However, direct evaluation of the emerging hypothesis that an altered time course of early postnatal development can lead to an ASD phenotype remains lacking.

The Single-Leg-Stance Test in Parkinson’s Disease