Mirror movements after childhood hemiparesis

Abstract

Mirror movements are normal in childhood and may persist to a later age following early brain lesions. We studied these movements in patients with childhood hemiparesis at different ages. The earlier the lesions, the more the mirror movements persisted. More mirror movement persisted in the nonparetic hand than in the paretic one. Complete paralysis of either hand tended to abolish all mirror movements in both hands. The task eliciting the most mirror movement was one that may come under ipsilateral control following contralateral damage. The greater persistence of mirror movements after earlier lesions appears to be an indicator of more extensive compensatory motor system reorganization that takes place after damage to a less mature nervous system.

Do mirror movements relate to hand function and timing of the brain lesion in children with unilateral cerebral palsy?

“…1,3,[8][9][10] The pathogenesis for their occurrence is not yet fully understood. One potential hypothesis could be the activation of bilateral primary motor cortices due to deficient interhemispheric inhibition caused by the underlying brain lesion.…”

“…3,13 However, the exact link between lesion type and mirror movements has yet to be investigated in a larger sample.…”

“…2,3 They are mainly observed in the upper limbs, are symmetrical by nature, and their intensity increases with increasing task complexity or fatigue. 4,5 Physiological mirror movements are present in newborn infants, show a steep decrease between 5 years and 8 years of age, and disappear after 10 years of age.…”

Congenital mirror movements

“…The severity of MM was scored with the Woods and Teuber scale. 8 Familial history, MM location, associated disorders, and reported functional disability were collected. A total of 658 unrelated healthy controls (348 Caucasians, 222 North Africans, 88 Turks) were also included to test for new variants.…”

Unravelling the cerebral palsy upper limb

“…Despite limited clinical and research access to functional magnetic resonance imaging or transmagnetic stimulation, researchers should use a quantifiable clinical assessment of mirror movements using methods such as those reported in Woods and Teuber. 3 In time, and with further evidence of its likely correlation with imaging data, Woods and Teuber's assessment may emerge as a crucial component of the baseline clinical assessment of children with congenital hemiplegia.…”