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Peer-reviewedCC BYFrontiers in neurology

Temporal synchronization during bilateral foot-tapping and its relationship with gait disturbance in patients with Parkinson’s disease

  • Atsuki Numata1
  • Yasuo Terao2
  • Naohiko Togashi3
  • Kazuko Hasegawa3
  • Kenichi Sugawara4
  • Yoshikazu Ugawa5
  • Toshiaki Furubayashi6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Physical Therapy Course, Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medical Science and Welfare, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University , ,
  2. 2Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyorin University , ,
  3. 3Department of Neurology, National Hospital Organization, Sagamihara National Hospital , ,
  4. 4Graduate Course of Health and Social Services, Kanagawa University of Human Services Graduate School , ,
  5. 5Department of System Neuroscience, Fukushima Medical University , ,
  6. 6Graduate School of Health and Environmental Science, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University , ,
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Abstract

Objective: Previous studies using finger-tapping tasks have shown that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) exhibit a deficit of temporal processing linked to gait disturbance. In this study, we aimed to investigate abnormalities in lower-limb rhythmic control and their association with freezing of gait in PD using a bilateral foot-tapping task.

Methods: Fifteen patients with PD and 25 healthy controls performed foot-tapping tasks synchronized with auditory tones at fixed intervals (500–2,400 ms). The tasks included unilateral and bilateral foot-tapping, with bilateral movements performed either in-phase (simultaneous) or antiphase (alternating). Data on synchronizing tapping error and inter-tap interval variability were analyzed and correlated with scores from clinical assessments, including the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and Freezing of Gait Questionnaire.

Results: Patients with PD showed greater negative synchronizing tapping error (negative asynchrony) and higher inter-tap interval variability than did controls, especially in antiphase condition. Exploratory within-PD-group analyses suggested associations between clinical severity and abnormalities in bilateral foot-tapping performance.

Conclusion: These findings indicate altered temporal accuracy and stability of rhythmic lower-limb movements in PD, particularly during bilateral antiphase foot-tapping. Bilateral foot-tapping measures may help characterize lower-limb timing deficits that are relevant to gait rehabilitation in PD.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{numata2026temporal,
  title = {{Temporal synchronization during bilateral foot-tapping and its relationship with gait disturbance in patients with Parkinson’s disease}},
  author = {Atsuki Numata and Yasuo Terao and Naohiko Togashi and Kazuko Hasegawa and Kenichi Sugawara and Yoshikazu Ugawa and Toshiaki Furubayashi},
  journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fneur.2026.1860090},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13668498},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Temporal synchronization during bilateral foot-tapping and its relationship with gait disturbance in patients with Parkinson’s disease
AU  - Atsuki Numata
AU  - Yasuo Terao
AU  - Naohiko Togashi
AU  - Kazuko Hasegawa
AU  - Kenichi Sugawara
AU  - Yoshikazu Ugawa
AU  - Toshiaki Furubayashi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Frontiers in neurology
DO  - 10.3389/fneur.2026.1860090
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13668498
AB  - Objective: Previous studies using finger-tapping tasks have shown that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) exhibit a deficit of temporal processing linked to gait disturbance. In this study, we aimed to investigate abnormalities in lower-limb rhythmic control and their association with freezing of gait in PD using a bilateral foot-tapping task.  Methods: Fifteen patients with PD and 25 healthy controls performed foot-tapping tasks synchronized with auditory tones at fixed intervals (500–2,400 ms). The tasks included unilateral and bilateral foot-tapping, with bilateral movements performed either in-phase (simultaneous) or antiphase (alternating). Data on synchronizing tapping error and inter-tap interval variability were analyzed and correlated with scores from clinical assessments, including the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and Freezing of Gait Questionnaire.  Results: Patients with PD showed greater negative synchronizing tapping error (negative asynchrony) and higher inter-tap interval variability than did controls, especially in antiphase condition. Exploratory within-PD-group analyses suggested associations between clinical severity and abnormalities in bilateral foot-tapping performance.  Conclusion: These findings indicate altered temporal accuracy and stability of rhythmic lower-limb movements in PD, particularly during bilateral antiphase foot-tapping. Bilateral foot-tapping measures may help characterize lower-limb timing deficits that are relevant to gait rehabilitation in PD.
SN  - 1664-2295
ER  -