Dopamine-related therapy improves gesturing and tool use in people with early Parkinson’s disease, and the changes can be tracked in the brain, say researchers from the Medical University of Vienna. 

Individuals with Parkinsonism gradually lose the ability to make the chemical dopamine,  contributing to problems with performing voluntary skilled movements (praxis). Dopaminergic medications aim to replace the lost dopamine and allow people to regain some abilities that are crucial for daily living.

In the study, participants taking the medication had no trouble imitating gestures when they watched demonstrations of object use, and none showed an inability to perform purposeful actions.

Magnetic resonance imaging showed significantly higher connectivity in the brain regions associated with these skills, and the researchers theorized that the dopaminergic treatment was responsible. “Dopaminergic therapy seems to normalize praxis abilities and related praxis networks in early stages of Parkinson’s disease,” they concluded.

Study results were published in NeuroImage: Clinical.