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A Mixed-Methods Investigation of a Novel, Co-developed Music-and-Movement Intervention for People with Parkinson’s

2026-05-07T13:45:18Z

Title: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of a Novel, Co-developed Music-and-Movement Intervention for People with Parkinson’s Authors: Bechtold, TA; Whyatt, C; Karageorghis, CI; Grahn, JA; Schaefer, R; Dinacci, Daria, D; Galati, S; Waldvogel, D; Bohlhalter, S; Stadelmann, M; Senn, O; Casso, I; Köchli, S; Rose, DC Abstract: Introduction: Research in Parkinson’s rehabilitation suggests that combining music and movement can improve both motor and non-motor symptoms for people with Parkinson's (PwP). Using an inclusive, participatory medicine approach, we co-developed a 12-week group intervention (Songlines for Parkinson’s) offering a toolbox of music-based strategies to support symptom management and everyday functioning (Rose et al., 2025). Methods: We used a repeated-measures, concurrent mixed-methods design across trials in the UK and Switzerland (N = 42). Data included kinematic measures, standardized questionnaires, and qualitative interviews. To overcome the limitations of conventional clinical assessments, which often do not capture functional mobility, we developed a new methodology—the Functional Mobility Assessment for Parkinson’s (FMA-P)—integrating motion capture and pressure-sensitive gait analysis (Köchli et al., 2025). Additional tests and questionnaires assessed Parkinson’s disease symptoms, perceived quality of life, imagery ability, musical engagement, and reward. Interviews explored participants’ motivation, use of music, engagement with intervention tasks, and continued use of music-based strategies post-intervention. Results: Functional mobility increased across several parameters (p < .05), motor impairment decreased (p = .006), and participants learned to apply motor and musical imagery in their daily lives (p < .001 for both). While qualitative data indicated perceived improvements in quality of life, these were not confirmed by standardized measures (p > .05). Music served as a vehicle for change, with participants identifying the most effective aspects of the intervention as: (a) the ease of integrating music-based rehabilitation into their daily lives, (b) the ability to choose their own music, which fostered a sense of agency, (c) the group setting, which promoted a sense of community, and (d) learning to use imagery, providing easily accessible internalized cues that improved both motor and non-motor symptoms. Discussion/Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that Songlines for Parkinson’s enhances functional mobility and symptom management while fostering agency, connection, and self-efficacy for personalizing rehabilitation strategies among participants. The FMA-P offers a promising new framework for evaluating functional mobility in PwP that corroborates qualitative findings and may help bridge the gap between clinical metrics and lived experience.

Effects of auditory stimuli during exhaustive exercise on cerebral oxygenation and psychophysical responses

2026-05-07T13:45:45Z

Title: Effects of auditory stimuli during exhaustive exercise on cerebral oxygenation and psychophysical responses Authors: Guérin, SMR; Karageorghis, CI; Coeugnet, MR; Bigliassi, M; Delevoye-Turrell, YN Abstract: Asynchronous music has been commonly used to reduce perceived exertion and render the exercise experience more pleasant. Research has indicated that in-task asynchronous music can reallocate an individual’s attentional focus to task-unrelated signals and increase the use of dissociative thoughts. Nonetheless, the brain mechanisms that underlie the purported benefits of music during exercise remain largely unknown due to the severe motion-related restrictions of popular neuroimaging techniques. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) represents a noninvasive imaging method that is particularly suited to exercise-related protocols given its high tolerance to motion artifacts. With use of fNIRS, the purpose of the present study was to determine the point of onset of cerebral oxygenation decline during exercise, and how this is influenced by the presence of asynchronous (ambient) motivational music. A continuous-wave fNIRS system was used to record the prefrontal, motor, and parietal hemodynamic responses of 36 participants (Mage = 23.1 years; 17 females, 16 males) who performed a cycle ergometry exercise protocol to the point of volitional exhaustion. Results indicated that asynchronous music did not engender any significant changes in cerebral hemodynamics, exercise endurance, or subjective measures, when compared with audiobook and silence control conditions. A nonsignificant trend emerged, suggesting reduced medial prefrontal cortex activation and slightly improved endurance with music. The present findings highlight the complexities associated with the influence of music on exercise-related brain activity. Further research employing more homogeneous samples and alternative exercise protocols is warranted to elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie the effects of music during exhaustive exercise. Description: Data and Code Availability: The study data and materials are shared openly as part of the publication of the article. All anonymized raw and processed data supporting the reported analyses, along with the code used for preprocessing and analyses, are available on a public Zenodo repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6261358). Methodological details pertaining to the present study were preregistered using the fNIRS preregistration template developed by Schroeder et al. (2023; see Supplementary File 4).; Supplementary Materials: Supplementary material for this article is available with the online version here: https://doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.1166#supplementary-data .

A Bayesian Network Analysis of Exercise Experiences With Audio‐Visual Stimuli

2026-05-07T13:46:17Z

Title: A Bayesian Network Analysis of Exercise Experiences With Audio‐Visual Stimuli Authors: Bird, JM; Karageorghis, CI; Hutchinson, JC; Harris, DJ Abstract: Audio-visual stimuli are widely used to enhance the exercise experience, yet the technological devices used to display these stimuli have received limited research attention. The aim of the present investigation was to apply a Bayesian Network (BN) to formally model and quantify the relationships between technological features of exercise-related audio-visual interventions and aspects of the exercise experience, offering a novel approach to understanding these complex interactions. A dataset compiled from the extant literature (k = 6) was used to construct the BN, specifying the network structure and learning the conditional probability distributions of the model. Through this framework, we examined how technological features—viewed through the lens of the Embodiment–Presence–Interactivity Cube—and music influence the exercise experience. The findings indicated that the pairwise combination of high interactivity and presence increased the probability of more positive affective valence. The three-way effect of high embodiment, presence and music increased the probability of high arousal as well as a more external focus of attention. The combination of high affective valence and high arousal was the strongest indicator of exercise enjoyment. Collectively, the findings offer new insights into how technological features of audio-visual interventions can shape the exercise experience, providing guidance for the optimal design of such interventions. These results have important implications for both research and practice, suggesting that practitioners should prioritise interactive audio-visual interventions with music to promote positive exercise experiences. Description: Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available via the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/82eyp).; Supporting Information is available online at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/hbe2/5892081#support-information-section .; For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from the submission.

Viewpoint: The gut microbiome and thermoregulatory response: Relevance of the microbiota in heat-related illness?

2026-04-19T02:01:11Z

Title: Viewpoint: The gut microbiome and thermoregulatory response: Relevance of the microbiota in heat-related illness? Authors: Gibson, OR Abstract: ... Description: ...