Characteristics of Bilateral Hand Function in Individuals With Unilateral Dystonia Due to Perinatal Stroke

Abstract

We assessed bilateral motor and sensory function in individuals with upper limb dystonia due to unilateral perinatal stroke and explored interrelationships of motor function and sensory ability. Reach kinematics and tactile sensation were measured in seven participants with dystonia and nine healthy volunteers. The dystonia group had poorer motor (hold time, reach time, shoulder/elbow correlation) and sensory (spatial discrimination, stereognosis) outcomes than the control group on the non-dominant side. On the dominant side, only sensation (spatial discrimination, stereognosis) was poorer in the dystonia group compared to the control group. In the dystonia group, although sensory and motor outcomes were uncorrelated, dystonia severity was related to poorer stereognosis, longer hold and reach times, and decreased shoulder/elbow coordination. Findings of bilateral sensory deficits in dystonia may be explained by neural reorganization. Visual compensation for somatosensory changes in the non-stroke hemisphere may explain the lack of bilateral impairments in reaching.

Coordination of Reach-to-Grasp Kinematics in Individuals With Childhood-Onset Dystonia Due to Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

“…However, some trials in the DYS group were discarded from analysis due to marker occlusion during movement, which prevents computation of joint angle trajectories. Reach-to-grasp movement times of a subset of participants from this study (DYS subjects 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 and all TD subjects) have been presented elsewhere [19]. In the full group of subjects in the DYS group presented in this paper, movement times (mean ± standard deviation) were longer in the DYS group (3.36 ± 0.58 s) compared to the TD group (2.28 ± 0.54 s) on the non-dominant arm (t(18) = 4.286, p < 0.001) and similar between groups on the dominant arm (t(18) = 1.871, p = 0.078; DYS = 2.63 ± 0.73 s; TD = 2.09 ± 0.53 s).…”

“…All procedures were approved by the National Institutes of Health Institutional Review Board and adhered to the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki. This study was a part of a larger study including electroencephalography [18], electromyography, sensory testing [19], posturography, magnetic resonance brain imaging, and transcranial magnetic stimulation.…”

Sensory tractography and robot‐quantified proprioception in hemiparetic children with perinatal stroke

“…Aside from motor disabilities, perinatal brain injury causes disturbances in sensation and perception that may contribute to functional disability [Bax et al, 2005;Bleyenheuft and Gordon, 2013;de Campos et al, 2014]. Studies in children with CP have reported impairments in touch threshold [Hoon et al, 2009], proprioception [Hoon et al, 2009], tactile discrimination [Auld et al, 2012], and stereognosis [Tizard et al, 1954;Van Heest et al, 1993].…”

Hearing Safety From Single- and Double-Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Children and Young Adults

“…This was a sub-study in a larger parent study including biomechanical assessments (20), sensory testing (21), electroencephalographic testing (22), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and posturography to learn more about the consequences of childhood brain injury. The study protocol was approved by the NIH Institutional Review Board and conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Helsinki Declaration.…”