---
title: Identify motor plasticity affecting walking
nct_id: NCT05286736
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: University of Minnesota
study_type: OBSERVATIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05286736"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05286736"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:03:43.416Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Identify motor plasticity affecting walking

**Goal (in five words):** Identify motor plasticity affecting walking

**Official Title:** Plasticity of Motor Systems in Early Stage Parkinson's Disease

**Trial ID:** [NCT05286736](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05286736)

## Key Facts

- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** OBSERVATIONAL
- **Sponsor:** University of Minnesota
- **Target Enrollment:** 50 participants
- **Start Date:** 2021-03-01
- **Completion Date:** 2026-07-09
- **Conditions:** Parkinson, Parkinson Disease
- **Interventions:** Neuroimaging, Quantitative assessments
- **Intervention Types:** DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

## Summary For Families

Goal: Learn how motor brain circuits change in early Parkinson's, so researchers can tell whether the brain is compensating or losing plasticity in ways that affect symptoms. Approach: Participants have MRI-based neuroimaging and detailed movement testing, and some take part in transcranial magnetic stimulation sessions that send brief magnetic pulses to the motor cortex to measure how excitable and adaptable those motor pathways are, and because participants are not on levodopa or dopamine agonists at baseline, the study looks at the untreated brain's motor responses with no interaction from those drugs. Eligibility: Adults 21 to 75 with idiopathic Parkinson's diagnosed by a movement disorders neurologist who can walk 50 meters unaided, plus age- and sex-matched healthy controls. People with dementia, major psychiatric or other neurologic conditions, implanted brain or cardiac devices, pregnancy, or seizure risk are excluded, and some people excluded from the TMS portion can still join the other testing.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 21 Years
- **Maximum age:** 75 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

Participants with PD

* Diagnosis of idiopathic PD, as determined by a movement disorders neurologist in accordance with the PD Society Brain Bank diagnostic criteria
* Not receiving levodopa or dopamine agonist to treat PD (at baseline)
* Able to ambulate independently without the use of an assistive device (e.g. cane) for 50 meters Healthy Controls
* Age- (+/- 3 years) and sex-matched to participants with PD
* Able to ambulate independently without the use of an assistive device (e.g. cane) for 50 meters

Exclusion Criteria:

* Dementia diagnosis and/or a University of California Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC) score and MacCAT-CR score indicating impaired capacity to consent
* History of musculoskeletal disorders that significant affect movement of lower or upper limbs as determined at the time of enrollment
* History of bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or major depressive disorder
* Other significant neurological disorders that may affect participation or performance in the study
* Implanted DBS or other neurosurgeries to treat PD
* Pregnancy

Additional exclusion criteria for TMS experiments (note that individuals who are excluded from the TMS experiment still have the opportunity to participate in the other data collection sessions):

* History of seizures, epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, or traumatic brain injury
* Recent history of frequent syncope (fainting) episodes in response to blood, emotional stress, or sensory triggers.
* Intracranial metallic or magnetic devices (e.g. cochlear implant, deep brain stimulator)
* Pacemaker or any implanted device
* History of surgery on blood vessels, brain, or heart
* Unexplained, recurring headaches or concussion within the last six months
* Severe hearing impairment
```

## Locations (1)

- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States _(44.9800, -93.2638)_
  - Joshua De Kam — (CONTACT) — 612-626-8052 — jadekam@umn.edu

## Central Contacts

- Colum MacKinnon, PhD — (CONTACT) — 612-625-5993 — cmackinn@umn.edu
- Madison Aasen — (CONTACT) — 612-505-8325 — aasen056@umn.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05286736*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05286736*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05286736*