Neural Mechanisms of Aerobic Exercise Benefits in PD With DBS

This study is investigating how aerobic exercise, specifically forced exercise (FE) and voluntary exercise (VE), affects movement, thinking, and brain activity in people with advanced Parkinson's disease who have deep brain stimulation (DBS). Over eight weeks, 36 participants will complete either a forced cycling program (where a motor helps them pedal faster than they could on their own) or a voluntary cycling program at a self-driven pace. Participants will complete an 8-week delayed start period to serve as a comparison before starting an exercise program. The study will measure motor symptoms, cognitive performance, and brain activity from both the cortex (via EEG) and the subthalamic nucleus (via DBS device recordings) at several time points, including before treatment, after the 8-week exercise period, and again four weeks later. By analyzing how neural signals change at rest and during tasks, the study will evaluate the neural mechanisms that make exercise beneficial. This research could ultimately guide more effective, personalized exercise therapies to support people with advanced Parkinson's disease with DBS.