Description:

Please join our next grand rounds seminar "Bridges and Barriers to Movement Function in People with Parkinson's Disease" presented by Colum D. MacKinnon, PhD, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 from 12:00-1:00pm CT via Zoom and in-person at 645 N. Michigan Avenue, Room 800. 

Parkinson’s disease is a progress neurodegenerative disorder leading to deficits in the capacity to initiate and execute voluntary movements. Yet, there is considerable heterogeneity in the expression of motor deficits and the rate of progression of disease across individuals. The first part if this presentation will review evidence that the presence of a rare sleep disorder, termed REM sleep behavior disorder, is a harbinger of phenoconversion to a phenotype of Parkinson’s disease or related disorder that is dominated by postural instability, gait disturbances and cognitive impairment. The second part of the presentation will describe evidence that, even in individuals with profound akinesia, the capacity to initiate and execute good quality movements can be intact, but is highly dependent upon the mode of movement initiation. Practical examples of interventions that can be used by physical therapists and caregivers to facilitate movement initiation and execution will be described.

Dr. MacKinnon received his PhD in Physiology from the University of Toronto and did postdoctoral training in neurophysiology and movement disorders at University College London. He was a faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University for 10 years and is a Professor of Neurology, Fellow in the Institute of Translational Neuroscience, and the Director of the Movement Disorders Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. His laboratory is focused on understanding the mechanisms contributing to impaired movement control in people with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. The laboratory uses motion capture, neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to examine the cortical, subcortical and spinal mechanisms contributing to movement impairment. The Movement Disorders Laboratory is part of the University of Minnesota Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research.