Motor Imagery Intervention for Improving Gait and Cognition in the Elderly

NCT02762604 | Completed Results DMC

• 3 other identifiers: 2014-3633K01AG049829KL2TR001071
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 49
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The investigators propose a single-blind randomized clinical trial to determine if seniors show improved mobility (walking speed) and cognition following motor imagery (imagined walking) training. They hypothesize that imagined walking can be used as a rehabilitative tool for improving walking speed and cognition in the elderly, because it engages and strengthens similar neural systems as actual walking and cognition.

Conditions

Motor Activity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Walking Speed During Single and Dual-task Walking Conditions

  Change in gait speed (centimeters per second) measured during normal pace walking and walking while talking conditions using an instrumented pathway. A positive mean value is indicative of an improvement (increase) in gait speed post-intervention, whereas a negative mean value is indicative of a decrease in gait speed post-intervention.

  Baseline and 3 months

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Change in Cognitive Performance During Walking While Talking

  Baseline and 3 months

• Change in Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) Signal During Dual-task Imagined Walking While Talking (iWWT) Conditions

  Baseline and 3 months

• Change in Trail Making Test Form A

  Baseline and 3 months

• Change in Trail Making Test Form B

  Baseline and 3 months

• Change in Trail Making Test Form B Minus Form A

  Baseline and 3 months

Other Outcomes (14)

• Change in Free Cued Serial Recall Test

  Baseline and 3 months

• Change in Delayed Figure Copy Recall on Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)

  Baseline and 3 months

• Change in Controlled Oral Word Fluency Test

  Baseline and 3 months

Study Arms (2)

Imagined Gait Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

During the phone-based imagined gait intervention, participants will be called by the experimenter three times a week and be asked to imagine walking, imagine talking and imagine walking-while-talking. They will also be asked to rate their visual and kinesthetic qualities of their images on a 1-5 scale following each trial.

Behavioral: Imagined Gait Intervention

Visual Imagery Intervention

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

During the phone-based visual imagery intervention, participants will be called three times a week by the experimenter and be asked to imagine concrete objects (e.g. octopus, teapot, and shovel). They will also be asked to rate their visual qualities of their images on a 1-5 scale following each trial.

Behavioral: Visual Imagery Intervention

Interventions

Imagined Gait Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Phone-based imagined gait intervention: participants will be called by the experimenter three times a week and be asked to imagine walking, imagine talking and imagine walking-while-talking. They will also be asked to rate their visual and kinesthetic qualities of their images on a 1-5 scale following each trial.

Imagined Gait Intervention

Visual Imagery Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Phone-based visual imagery intervention: participants will be called three times a week by the experimenter and be asked to imagine concrete objects (e.g. octopus, teapot, and shovel). They will also be asked to rate their visual qualities of their images on a 1-5 scale following each trial.

Visual Imagery Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years - 85 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults between 65 and 85 years and older, residing in the community.
• Able to speak English at a level sufficient to undergo study procedures.
• Plan to be in the area for the next 3 months.

You may not qualify if:

• Presence of dementia (telephone-based memory impairment screen \< 5 or Ascertain Dementia 8-item Informant Questionnaire score \> 1)
• Presence of gait disorder diagnosed by clinician (e.g. neuropathy).
• Any medical condition or chronic medication use (e.g. neuroleptics) that will compromise safety or affect cognitive functioning.
• Terminal illness with life expectancy \<12 months.
• Progressive, degenerative neurologic disease (e.g. Parkinson's disease, ALS).
• Major psychiatric disorders such as Schizophrenia.
• Pacemaker or any permanent metal implants like hip prosthesis (other than tooth fillings) and claustrophobia.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine: lead
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator
• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

The Bronx, New York, 10461, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Blumen HM, Verghese J. Motor imagery of walking and walking while talking: a pilot randomized-controlled trial protocol for older adults. Neurodegener Dis Manag. 2017 Dec;7(6):353-363. doi: 10.2217/nmt-2017-0024. Epub 2017 Nov 22.

  PMID: 29165011 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Helena Blumen
• Organization: Albert Einstein College of Medicine

helena.blumen@einsteinmed.edu

7184303810

Study Officials

• Helena M Blumen, Ph.D

  Albert Einstein College of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 3, 2016
• First Posted: May 5, 2016
• Study Start: October 16, 2017
• Primary Completion: June 21, 2022
• Study Completion: June 21, 2022
• Last Updated: June 4, 2024
• Results First Posted: June 4, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)