Quantitative assessment of motor abnormalities in untreated patients with major depressive disorder

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to examine motor physiology disturbances in a group of patients with untreated major depressive disorder using sensitive instrumental procedures. The secondary aim of the study was to examine the relationship of the affective symptom state to these motor assessments. The authors studied 40 individuals meeting DSM-IV criteria for unipolar major depressive disorder and 40 healthy comparison subjects. Electromechanical measures of force steadiness (FS), simple reaction time (RT), movement time (MT) and scaling of movement velocity to distance (velocity scaling, VS) were performed. The authors found that performance on the force steadiness, movement time, and velocity scaling measures was significantly poorer in the subjects with depression. There was no difference between the groups on the measure of reaction time. The force steadiness, reaction time, movement time, and velocity scaling scores were not associated with affective state. This study demonstrates that motor abnormalities suggestive of basal ganglia dysfunction occur in many patients with major depressive disorder, and that these abnormalities may exist in the absence of current psychotropic medication treatment. The finding of impaired movement time and velocity scaling in the presence of normal reaction time suggests a neuromotor or parkinsonian pathophysiology for slowness in depression.

Balance characteristics in patients with major depression after a two-month walking exercise program: A pilot study

“…Walther et al [13] recently found that MDD patients displayed associations between resting state cerebral blood flow and activity level in the right orbito-frontal cortex and left supplemental motor area (SMA). These findings are consistent with the assumption of dopamine deficiency responsible for the motor retardation in MDD patients [1]. Against the role of the prefrontal cortex and SMA in human balance control, physical activity influences brain-related function and outcomes, through effects on the striatal dopamine system [14].…”

“…Psychomotor disorders are more prevalent in depression than in healthy controls, and are often related to the severity of clinical state [1]. Numerous studies have described a strong association between motor disorders and early depressive symptoms (and associated cognitive decline) [2,3], and this association is supported by (depressed) state-related balance impairment.…”

An Examination of Psychomotor Disturbance in Current and Remitted MDD: An RDoC Study

“…Handwriting samples are being obtained to compute Velocity Scaling to index PmR [76]. Lower values of Velocity Scaling reflect the slowing or inability to increase pen movement velocity across shorter and longer target distances, and have been linked to motor slowing in several clinical populations [17,18,77]. Handwriting samples are acquired using strokes, which will be segmented and processed for target variables: peak vertical velocity and absolute size of stroke.…”

Exploring the Relationship of Transdiagnostic Mood and Psychosis Symptom Domains with Motor Dysfunction

“…It should be noted that unipolar depression is also associated with various psychomotor abnormalities (e.g., see Sobin and Sackeim [19] and Peralta and Cuesta [23] for reviews; see also Lohr et al [36]). The associations between depression as a symptom domain and motor variables will be explored in the current study.…”