Differences in simple reaction time between individuals with and without Parkinson's Disease
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Abstract
An individual's neurocognition declines as a result of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Reaction time (RT) is a neurocognitive task shown to be negatively impacted within individuals with PD. Reflexion Edge (RE) is a tool for assessing RT performance, however, little is known about the effectiveness of this tool to assess RT in an individual with PD. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in RT measures between individuals with and without PD. Methods: 14 older adults, 57-81 years of age, participated. Participants were placed into two groups: PD (n=9, m=69.78 + sd=6.74), non-Parkinson's (nonPD) (n=5, m=73.40 + sd=6.95) based on self-reported clinical diagnosis. Intake Questionnaire recorded demographics, health history, technology usage, sleep history, and on/off medication status were collected prior to data collection. Participants performed a total of 8 Simple RT trials completed across week 1, week 2, and 30 days using RE. Results: A one-way between-subjects Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) found no significant difference in RT measures between the PD group (m=951.77 + sd=265.25) and the non-PD group (m=764.22 + sd=128.40), F (1,13)=2.158, p= .168, n2= .152. Discussion: In general, the findings support the use of RE to assess RT measures regardless of the presence of PD. Further research to increase the sample population size along with establishing a more comprehensive understanding of within subject measures is needed before a definitive conclusion can be made.
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Research project completed at the Department of Human Performance Studies, Department of Biology, Department of Psychology.