The Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire Is a Reliable Tool for Individuals With Parkinson Disease

Background and Purpose: It is not known whether individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) can practice movements mentally. Before this question can be addressed, a reliable imagery assessment tool must be established. The recently developed Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ) is valid for non-disabled individuals and individuals with stroke. We have extended this work by examining the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of the KVIQ in individuals with PD. Methods: Eleven individuals with mild to moderate PD were assessed, while on medication, by the same examiner at 2 sessions (5–12 days apart). Test-retest reliability was measured using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). To examine concurrent validity, KVIQ scores from the second session were compared with a gold standard, the revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire, using Spearman rank order correlation coefficients. Results: There was no significant difference between total KVIQ scores for the test-retest sessions (P > 0.05). Overall, test-retest reliability of the KVIQ was good (ICC = 0.87), and reliability of the subscale of the KVIQ for indexing visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery was also good (ICC = 0.82 and 0.95, respectively). However, the subscale indexing axial visual imagery showed less reliability (ICC = 0.74), suggesting that individuals with PD were not as reliable when imagining axial visual movements as they were for imagining limb movements. Concurrent validity between the second session KVIQ score and the revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire score (gold standard) was excellent (rho = 0.93). Conclusion: Our data support the conclusion that the KVIQ is a reliable and valid test for indexing mental imagery ability in individuals with PD. The KVIQ is easy to administer, and the movements (both real and imagined) required are appropriate for individuals with neuropathology. Our data suggest that the KVIQ is a good choice for clinicians who may wish to index motor imagery ability before implementing imagery as a rehabilitation intervention.

[1]  Orit Shechtman,et al.  Foundations of Clinical Research: Applications to Practice, 2nd Edition, Leslie Gross Portney, Mary P. Watkins. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ (2000), 752 pages. $60 , 2001 .

[2]  L E Daniels,et al.  Reliability and validity of the Harris Infant Neuromotor Test. , 2001, The Journal of pediatrics.

[3]  M. Jeannerod,et al.  Mental motor imagery: a window into the representational stages of action , 1995, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.

[4]  K. Hirayama,et al.  [Axial (neck and trunk) rigidity in Parkinson's disease, striatonigral degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy]. , 1996, Rinsho shinkeigaku = Clinical neurology.

[5]  C. Richards,et al.  Clinical Assessment of Motor Imagery After Stroke , 2008, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[6]  R. Lee.  Pathophysiology of rigidity and akinesia in Parkinson's disease. , 1989, European neurology.

[7]  Ruth Dickstein,et al.  Integration of Motor Imagery and Physical Practice in Group Treatment Applied to Subjects With Parkinson’s Disease , 2007, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[8]  Jean Lorant,et al.  Validation de la traduction française du Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (MIQ-R) , 2004 .

[9]  Jean-Claude Baron,et al.  Motor Imagery to Enhance Recovery After Subcortical Stroke: Who Might Benefit, Daily Dose, and Potential Effects , 2008, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[10]  A. Canavan,et al.  Motor learning by imagery is differentially affected in Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases , 1999, Behavioural Brain Research.

[11]  V. S. Gurfinkel,et al.  Axial hypertonicity in Parkinson's disease: Direct measurements of trunk and hip torque , 2007, Experimental Neurology.

[12]  C. Richards,et al.  The Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ) for Assessing Motor Imagery in Persons with Physical Disabilities: A Reliability and Construct Validity Study , 2007, Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPT.

[13]  Chiang-shan Ray Li,et al.  Impairment of motor imagery in putamen lesions in humans , 2000, Neuroscience Letters.

[14]  Anne R. Isaac,et al.  An instrument for assessing imagery of movement: The Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ). , 1986 .

[15]  Peter Ford Dominey,et al.  Motor imagery in normal subjects and in asymmetrical Parkinson’s disease , 2000, Neurology.

[16]  S. Small,et al.  Fine modulation in network activation during motor execution and motor imagery. , 2004, Cerebral cortex.

[17]  C. Hall,et al.  Measuring movement imagery abilities: A revision of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire. , 1997 .

[18]  A. Campos,et al.  A Factor Analytic Study of Two Measures of Mental Imagery , 1990 .

[19]  P. Brugger,et al.  What disconnection tells about motor imagery: evidence from paraplegic patients. , 2005, Cerebral cortex.

[20]  P. Stern.  Neuroscience Fundamentals for Rehabilitation , 1999 .

[21]  Gammon M Earhart,et al.  A Kinematic and Electromyographic Analysis of Turning in People With Parkinson Disease , 2009, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[22]  Steven C. Cramer,et al.  Effects of motor imagery training after chronic, complete spinal cord injury , 2007, Experimental Brain Research.

[23]  A. Guillot,et al.  Contribution from neurophysiological and psychological methods to the study of motor imagery , 2005, Brain Research Reviews.

[24]  I. Toni,et al.  Cerebral compensation during motor imagery in Parkinson's disease , 2007, Neuropsychologia.

[25]  R. Dickstein,et al.  Motor Imagery in Physical Therapist Practice , 2007, Physical Therapy.

[26]  H. Seelen,et al.  Mental practice-based rehabilitation training to improve arm function and daily activity performance in stroke patients: a randomized clinical trial , 2008, BMC neurology.

[27]  K. Hirayama,et al.  [A study on truncal rigidity in parkinsonism--evaluation of diagnostic test and electrophysiological study]. , 1993, Rinsho shinkeigaku = Clinical neurology.

[28]  J B Poline,et al.  Partially overlapping neural networks for real and imagined hand movements. , 2000, Cerebral cortex.

[29]  Stretch reflex of quadriceps femoris and its relation to rigidity in Parkinson's disease , 1992, Acta neurologica Scandinavica.

[30]  D. Wade,et al.  The effects of mental practice in stroke rehabilitation: a systematic review. , 2006, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[31]  N. Tallent.  Psychological testing. , 1960, The American journal of nursing.

[32]  R. Seitz,et al.  Mental practice improves hand function after hemiparetic stroke. , 2007, Restorative neurology and neuroscience.