As my husband’s physical abilities are taken away from him, he seems to be living a more cerebral existence, caught up in his head. And even there, his brain is malfunctioning. Everything in his body has slowed down including the neural processors in the brain that function to keep it all going. Could it be that the mental effort needed to create physical activity is becoming too much? Is that why movement has become so difficult for him at times?

We were told early on that Parkinson’s interferes with neural connections. Activities that used to be automatic would break down and not work anymore. He would have to figure out how to function by focusing and telling his body what to do. In a non-PD brain, neuroplasticity regrows networks allowing for new connections to replace broken ones. My husband’s brain doesn’t have that option. New connections and pathways can still be built, but they are not necessarily correct. Again PD and the medications he takes interfere to mess things up. It’s a very complicated situation and one researchers are working on.

One activity that does seem to have a positive impact on neuroplasticity or regrowth in the PD brain is physical exercise. The medical field hasn’t been able to figure out why exactly but it does make a difference. When my husband was told exercise is the only treatment proven to slow progression of symptoms, he listened and has been working out regularly ever since. Perhaps, that is why we are still on this journey after almost 20 years in spite of all that he has lost.