The Perceptual vs. Motoric Basis of Bimanual Coordination in Young Adults and Individual's with Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

The research presented in this thesis investigates the motoric versus perceptual basis of bimanual coordination stability. A general introductory section provides an overview of Parkinson's disease, upper limb coordination in healthy younger and healthy older adults and individuals with Parkinson's disease, and the current views of the basis of bimanual coordination stability. Following the general introductory section are two manuscripts for the two experiments. Both experiments followed similar paradigms. Healthy young adults participated in the first experiment and individuals with Parkinson's disease and healthy older adults participated in the second experiment. Following the presentation of the empirical work is a general discussion section. This section is intended to summarize the two experiments, to discuss potential methodological issues and to provide ideas for future experiments.