Dual tasking impairments are associated with striatal pathology in Huntington’s disease

Authors

Johnny Lo, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Alvaro Reyes
Timothy S. Pulverenti
Timothy J. Rankin, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Danielle M. Bartlett, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Pauline Zaenker, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Grant Rowe, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Kirk Feindel
Govinda Poudel
Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis
Mel R. Ziman, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Travis M. Cruickshank, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Author Identifier

Johnny Lo

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1913-5354

Tim Rankin

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2915-3460

Danielle Bartlett

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6096-3760

Pauline Zaenker

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0807-1968

Grant Rowe

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6980-051

Mel Ziman

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7527-353

Travis Cruickshank

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8673-191X

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology

Publisher

Wiley

School

School of Science / School of Medical and Health Sciences / Exercise Medicine Research Institute

RAS ID

32275

Funders

Edith Cowan University - Open Access Support Scheme 2020

Lotterywest

Grant Number

Lotterywest number : 107/20090827

Comments

Lo, J., Reyes, A., Pulverenti, T.S., Rankin, T.J., Bartlett, D.M., Zaenker, P., Rowe, G., Feindel, K., Poudel, G., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Ziman, M.R., Cruickshank, T.M. (2020). Dual tasking impairments are associated with striatal pathology in Huntington’s disease. Annals of Clinicial and Translational Neurology, 7(9), 1608-1619.

https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.51142

Abstract

Background: Recent findings suggest that individuals with Huntington’s disease (HD) have an impaired capacity to execute cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously, or dual task, which gradually worsens as the disease advances. The onset and neuropathological changes mediating impairments in dual tasking in individuals with HD are unclear. The reliability of dual tasking assessments for individuals with HD is also unclear. Objectives: To evaluate differences in dual tasking performance between individuals with HD (presymptomatic and prodromal) and matched controls, to investigate associations between striatal volume and dual tasking performance, and to determine the reliability of dual tasking assessments. Methods: Twenty individuals with HD (10 presymptomatic and 10 prodromal) and 20 healthy controls were recruited for the study. Individuals undertook four single and dual task assessments, comprising motor (postural stability or force steadiness) and cognitive (simple or complex mental arithmetic) components, with single and dual tasks performed three times each. Participants also undertook a magnetic resonance imaging assessment. Results: Compared to healthy controls, individuals with presymptomatic and prodromal HD displayed significant deficits in dual tasking, particularly cognitive task performance when concurrently undertaking motor tasks (P < 0.05). The observed deficits in dual tasking were associated with reduced volume in caudate and putamen structures (P < 0.05),however, not with clinical measures of disease burden. An analysis of the reliability of dual tasking assessments revealed moderate to high test–retest reliability [ICC: 0.61-0.99] for individuals with presymptomatic and prodromal HD and healthy controls. Conclusions: Individuals with presymptomatic and prodromal HD have significant deficits in dual tasking that are associated with striatal degeneration. Findings also indicate that dual tasking assessments are reliable in individuals presymptomatic and prodromal HD and healthy controls.

DOI

10.1002/acn3.51142

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.