- Bradykinesia say: brad-ee-kin-EE-zha
- Slowness of movement, and movements getting smaller as you go. One of the main features of Parkinson's.
- Freezing of gait
- A sudden feeling that your feet are stuck to the floor, often when starting to walk, turning, or reaching a doorway.
- Micrographia say: my-kro-GRAF-ee-a
- Handwriting that starts normal and shrinks and tightens as you write.
- Hypophonia say: high-po-FOH-nee-a
- A soft, quiet voice that can happen in Parkinson's. The main treatment is a speech therapy called LSVT LOUD, not imagery.
- Motor imagery
- Imagining a movement in your mind without actually doing it. This is what most of the practices use.
- Action observation
- Watching a movement (or imagining watching one). Like imagery, it gently activates the brain's movement systems.
- Seeing vs feeling imagery visual / kinesthetic
- Two ways of imagining. “Seeing” is picturing a movement; “feeling” (kinesthetic) is sensing it in your body. Many people do a bit of both.
- Aphantasia say: a-fan-TAY-zha
- Having little or no mental pictures at all. It's common and completely normal, and the practices still work without pictures.
- Basal ganglia
- A group of structures deep in the brain that help start and size movement. In Parkinson's they run short of dopamine.
- Dopamine
- A brain chemical that helps movement run smoothly. Parkinson's involves losing dopamine-making cells; medication helps replace it.
- “On” and “off” periods
- “On” is when medication is working and movement is easier; “off” is when it wears thin and symptoms return. Imagery does not change this cycle.
- Cueing
- Using an outside prompt — a line on the floor, a beat to walk to — to help movement along. A key physiotherapy strategy for walking.
- UPDRS-III
- A standard clinical score doctors use to measure movement symptoms in Parkinson's. The most recent research found imagery did not significantly improve it.
- LSVT LOUD
- An intensive, evidence-based speech therapy for the soft voice of Parkinson's. It is the recommended approach for speech — not imagery.
- Balance systems vestibular / proprioception
- How the body stays upright: the inner-ear balance organs (vestibular) and the sense of where your body is (proprioception), pulled together by the brain.