David Meder
COmponents of BRAdykinesia (CoBra): Uncovering the core features of the bradykinetic symptom complex
Bradykinesia, or 鈥渟lowness of movement鈥, is the hallmark motor symptom of Parkinson鈥檚 disease (PD). In practice, the term is applied broadly to heterogenous motor impairments beyond slowness alone, including reduced movement amplitude, initiation deficits, and the sequence effect (a progressive reduction in speed or amplitude of repetitive movements during a single, continuous task). This conceptual vagueness limits the mechanistic understanding and constrains individualized treatment.
The COmponents of BRAdykinesia (CoBra) project will develop a formal, data-driven framework that decomposes bradykinesia into constituent components. Using wearable sensors, AI-based video tracking, and force-sensitive devices, we will obtain detailed kinematic profiles from a comprehensive battery of motor tasks in 50 people with PD, tested ON and OFF medication, and in 25 age- and sex-matched controls. Dimensionality-reduction techniques and hierarchical Bayesian modeling will identify latent motor components and relate them to clinical subtypes and medication response.
In a subset of participants, functional MRI during selected motor tasks will map the neural circuitry underlying each component. This framework will enable precise clinical phenotyping of bradykinesia, support targeted treatment strategies, and foster stringency and comparability in future research on motor symptoms in PD.
