  Music has been shown to enhance motor control in patients with Parkinson's
disease (PD). Notably, musical rhythm is perceived as an external auditory cue
that helps PD patients to better control movements. The rationale of such
effects is that motor control based on auditory guidance would activate a
compensatory brain network that minimizes the recruitment of the defective
pathway involving the basal ganglia. Would associating music to movement
improve its perception and control in PD? Musical sonification consists in
modifying in real-time the playback of a preselected music according to some
movement parameters. The validation of such a method is underway for
handwriting in PD patients. When confirmed, this study will strengthen the
clinical interest of musical sonification in motor control and (re)learning in
PD.
