Walking and thinking - brain activity during complex walking in atypical parkinsonian syndromes
NCT ID NCT06906276
First seen Oct 22, 2026 · Last updated Oct 22, 2026
Summary
Every-day life means being part of a complex environment and performing complex tasks that usually involve a combination of motor and cognitive skills. However, the process of aging or the sequelae of neurological diseases such as atypical Parkinson's disease (APD) compromises motor-cognitive interaction necessary for an independent lifestyle. While motor-cognitive performance has been identified as an important goal for sustained health across different clinical populations, little is known about underlying brain function leading to these difficulties and how to best target these motor-cognitive difficulties in the context of rehabilitation and exercise interventions. The challenge of improving treatments of motor-cognitive difficulties (such as dual-tasking and navigation) is daunting, and an important step is arriving at a method that accurately portrays these impairments in an ecologically valid state. The investigators aim therefore to explore brain function during complex walking in healthy and APD by investigating the effects of age and neurological disease on motor-cognitive performance and its neural correlates during three conditions of complex walking (dual-task walking, navigation and a combination of both) using non-invasive measures of brain activity (functional near infrared spectrometry, fNIRS) and advanced gait analysis in real time in older healthy adults and people with APD.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
We are studying complex walking in different populations, such as people with Multiple Sclerosis, healthy young adults, healthy elderly, and elderly with Parkinson's disease. We have during 2022 completed data collection (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05218213) of healthy young adults, healthy elderly, and elderly with Parkinson's disease. In 2024, we completed data collection in people with Multiple Sclerosis (NCT05787704). Hence, this registration concerns the atypical parkinsonism cohort.
- Ages
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Children (under 18), adults (18 to 64) and older adults (65 and over)
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * clinical diagnosis of PSP according to Movement Disorder Society (MDS) (2017) or * MSA according to MDS criteria (2022) * the ability to walk with or without a mobility device for ≤5 minutes continuously Exclusion Criteria: * cognitive difficulties affecting the ability to understand and/or follow verbal/written - instructions * severe freezing of gait * Severe hearing or visual impairments that affect participation in the assessments * Other neurological diseases * Other diseases that can affect gait or balance.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Karolinska Institutet
RECRUITINGSolna, Solna, 17177, Sweden
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