Bimanual movement coordination in spastic hemiparesis

Abstract

A Fitts' task was used to examine whether the large movement asymmetry in subjects with spastic hemiparesis can be reduced or eliminated when both limbs are required to perform functionally equivalent tasks. Furthermore, it was determined whether any such benefit was expressed as mutual accommodation, or whether one hand "slaves" the other. Finally, the effect of increased task constraints on the magnitude of the asymmetry was considered. A group of ten students served as controls. Subjects had to grasp small balls and subsequently place them into holes. As expected, large total response time differences were present between the hands of the hemiparetic subjects in the unimanual conditions. However, 92% of the difference between hands was eliminated in the bimanual conditions. It is argued that the observed temporal invariance, or time locking, between hands in the bimanual conditions might be facilitated through the activity of bilateral controls exerted from each hemisphere and neural crosstalk at different levels of the central nervous system. Still, an asymmetric tendency remained in the bimanual conditions: a tendency existed for the impaired hand to reach the "target" later in time compared with the dominant hand. This tendency was enlarged as the asymmetry in task demands for the two limbs increased.

The “Mirror Box” Illusion: Effect of Visual Information on Bimanual Coordination in Children with Spastic Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy

“…Consistent with results from experiments that have examined bimanual reach and grasp tasks (Steenbergen et al, 1996;Sugden & Utley, 1995), it was found that for the first two cycles of a bimanual circular movement, children with SHCP were able to maintain a similar mean temporal coordination pattern (i.e., mean CRP and movement time) compared with an age-matched control group. However, children with SHCP showed greater variability of the coordination pattern (i.e., SD CRP) compared with the TD children, and exhibited increased normalized jerk in the more impaired arm compared with the less impaired arm.…”

“…Based on previous research, it was expected that both groups would be able to exhibit a symmetrical coordination pattern (Volman et al, 2002;Robertson, 2001;Utley & Sugden, 1998;Steenbergen, Hulstijn, De Vries, & Berger, 1996;Sugden & Utley, 1995). However, the children with SHCP were expected to perform the movement with more variability between the arms than the TD control population (Volman et al, 2002;Steenbergen et al, 1996).…”

Control of prehension in hemiparetic cerebral palsy: similarities and differences between the ipsi‐ and contra‐lesional sides of the body

“…Corroborating this assumption is the present finding of a strong trend for larger absolute timing differences between peak velocity and peak aperture at the contra-lesional side. Indeed, it was shown previously that attention is almost exclusively focused on the contra-lesional hand during bimanual movement performance in this group (Steenbergen et al 1996).…”

Fingertip Force Planning During Grasp Is Disrupted by Impaired Sensorimotor Integration in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

“…Children with hemiplegic CP also have impaired bimanual coordination above and beyond their unilateral upper extremity impairments (9,(25)(26)(27)(28). Bimanual coordination impairments may underlie some of the functional limitations these children experience in activities such as dressing, eating, and playing sports.…”