The Treatment of Akinesia using Virtual Images

by Jerrold D. Prothero

Akinesia

While akinesia is the most disabling of the three primary manifestations of Parkinson's disease, it is poorly defined [12]. Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines it simply as ``complete or partial loss of muscle movement'' [78]. Other authors present similar definitions [32,63,42].

Delwaide and Gonce [12] and Imai et al.\ [31] provide more detailed lists of possible symptoms of akinesia: see Appendix C.

For the purposes of this thesis, the generic definition of akinesia as ``difficulty initiating and maintaining motion'' is sufficient.