Non-invasive brain stimulation for speech in Parkinson’s disease: A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundHypokinetic dysarthria is a common but difficult-to-treat symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD).ObjectivesWe evaluated the long-term effects multiple-session repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on hypokinetic in PD. Neural mechanisms were assessed by functional MRI.MethodsA randomized parallel-group sham stimulation-controlled design was used. Patients randomly assigned to ten sessions (2 weeks) real (1 Hz) or over right superior temporal gyrus. Stimulation at weeks 2, 6, and 10 after baseline assessment. Articulation, prosody, speech intelligibility quantified therapist using validated tool (Phonetics score Dysarthric Profile). Activations network regions intrinsic connectivity 3T MRI. Linear mixed models post-hoc tests utilized for data analyses.ResultsAltogether 33 PD patients completed study (20 group 13 group). revealed significant time (F(3, 88.1) = 22.7, p < 0.001) time-by-group interactions: F(3, 88.0) 2.8, 0.040) Phonetics score. Real as compared led activation increases orofacial sensorimotor cortex caudate nucleus increased these with stimulated area.ConclusionsThis first show treatment non-invasive brain changes are discussed.