Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease

All participants undergo repeated assessments under multiple deep brain stimulation (DBS) conditions in a randomized order. Each participant serves as their own control and completes testing under clinically optimized stimulation, as well as alternative stimulation paradigms. An additional baseline condition without stimulation is performed prior to randomized testing. Assessments include walking and balance tasks performed in a virtual reality environment designed to simulate real-world gait challenges, as well as stair ambulation and functional mobility tasks. Neural activity is recorded from the implanted DBS device and synchronized with biomechanical and kinematic data collected during task performance. This design enables within-subject comparisons of neural activity and gait performance across stimulation conditions.