Changes in thumb tapping rates and central motor conduction times are associated in persons with multiple sclerosis

Gulde, Philipp; Çetin, Müjdat; Hermsdörfer, Joachim; Rieckmann, Peter

doi:10.1007/s10072-022-05991-3

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Some research results suggest that changes in finger-tapping rates are related to central motor conduction times and are therefore suitable to track performance status, e.g., in multiple sclerosis. Additionally, finger tapping could serve as a useful tool to assess cognitive status in different contexts, e.g., Parkinson disease or multiple sclerosis, when assessing disease progression [ 31 , 36 – 38 ]. Interestingly, Hausdorff et al postulated that walking might be more closely related to complex motor tasks than to isolated finger tapping [ 32 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance

et al. 2023

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Background There is ample evidence that mobility abilities between healthy young and elderly people differ. However, we do not know whether these differences are based on different lower leg motor capacity or instead reveal a general motor condition that could be detected by monitoring upper-limb motor behavior. We therefore captured body movements during a standard mobility task, namely the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) with subjects following different instructions while performing a rapid, repetitive goal-directed arm-movement test (arm-movement test). We hypothesized that we would be able to predict gait-related parameters from arm motor behavior, even regardless of age. Methods Sixty healthy individuals were assigned to three groups (young: mean 26 ± 3 years, middle-aged 48 ± 9, old 68 ± 7). They performed the arm-movement and TUG test under three conditions: preferred (at preferred movement speed), dual-task (while counting backwards), and fast (at fast movement speed). We recorded the number of contacts within 20 s and the TUG duration. We also extracted TUG walking sequences to analyze spatiotemporal gait parameters and evaluated the correlation between arm-movement and TUG results. Results The TUG condition at preferred speed revealed differences in gait speed and step length only between young and old, while dual-task and fast execution increased performance differences significantly among all 3 groups. Our old group’s gait speed decreased the most doing the dual-task, while the young group’s gait speed increased the most during the fast condition. As in our TUG results, arm-movements were significant faster in young than in middle-aged and old. We observed significant correlations between arm movements and the fast TUG condition, and that the number of contacts closely predicts TUG timefast and gait speedfast. This prediction is more accurate when including age. Conclusion We found that the age-related decline in mobility performance that TUG reveals strongly depends on the test instruction: the dual-task and fast condition clearly strengthened group contrasts. Interestingly, a fast TUG performance was predictable by the performance in a fast repetitive goal-directed arm-movements test, even beyond the age effect. We assume that arm movements and the fast TUG condition reflect similarly reduced motor function. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) number: DRKS00016999, prospectively registered on March, 26, 2019.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance

et al. 2023

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“…This could be advantageous, especially in using small screens where drawings are limited due to space. These approaches include drawing simpler shapes than Archimedes spirals [ 14 , 56 – 58 ], tilting a smartphone to maintain an objective in position using the smartphone accelerometers [ 59 – 61 ], and finger tapping (FT) to assess upper limb impairment [ 62 , 63 ].…”

Section: Technologies For Tremor Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The understanding of muscle activity in intention tremor remains incomplete, necessitating a more comprehensive analysis. For instance, conducting tasks specifically designed to elicit intention tremor in individuals with cerebellar pathology would facilitate an in-depth investigation of motor conduction times and activation patterns [ 62 ].…”

Section: Conclusion: Future Avenues To Assess Intention Tremormentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper limb intention tremor assessment: opportunities and challenges in wearable technology

Paredes-Acuna,

Utpadel-Fischler,

Ding

et al. 2024

J NeuroEngineering Rehabil

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Background Tremors are involuntary rhythmic movements commonly present in neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and multiple sclerosis. Intention tremor is a subtype associated with lesions in the cerebellum and its connected pathways, and it is a common symptom in diseases associated with cerebellar pathology. While clinicians traditionally use tests to identify tremor type and severity, recent advancements in wearable technology have provided quantifiable ways to measure movement and tremor using motion capture systems, app-based tasks and tools, and physiology-based measurements. However, quantifying intention tremor remains challenging due to its changing nature. Methodology & Results This review examines the current state of upper limb tremor assessment technology and discusses potential directions to further develop new and existing algorithms and sensors to better quantify tremor, specifically intention tremor. A comprehensive search using PubMed and Scopus was performed using keywords related to technologies for tremor assessment. Afterward, screened results were filtered for relevance and eligibility and further classified into technology type. A total of 243 publications were selected for this review and classified according to their type: body function level: movement-based, activity level: task and tool-based, and physiology-based. Furthermore, each publication's methods, purpose, and technology are summarized in the appendix table. Conclusions Our survey suggests a need for more targeted tasks to evaluate intention tremors, including digitized tasks related to intentional movements, neurological and physiological measurements targeting the cerebellum and its pathways, and signal processing techniques that differentiate voluntary from involuntary movement in motion capture systems.

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Going beyond PA: Assessing sensorimotor capacity with wearables in multiple sclerosis—a cross-sectional study

Gulde,

Vojta,

Schmidle

et al. 2023

J NeuroEngineering Rehabil

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Background Wearable technologies are currently clinically used to assess energy expenditure in a variety of populations, e.g., persons with multiple sclerosis or frail elderly. To date, going beyond physical activity, deriving sensorimotor capacity instead of energy expenditure, is still lacking proof of feasibility. Methods In this study, we read out sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope) of smartwatches in a sample of 90 persons with multiple sclerosis over the course of one day of everyday life in an inpatient setting. We derived a variety of different kinematic parameters, in addition to lab-based tests of sensorimotor performance, to examine their interrelation by principal component, cluster, and regression analyses. Results These analyses revealed three components of behavior and sensorimotor capacity, namely clinical characteristics with an emphasis on gait, gait-related physical activity, and upper-limb related physical activity. Further, we were able to derive four clusters with different behavioral/capacity patterns in these dimensions. In a last step, regression analyses revealed that three selected smartwatch derived kinematic parameters were able to partially predict sensorimotor capacity, e.g., grip strength and upper-limb tapping. Conclusions Our analyses revealed that physical activity can significantly differ between persons with comparable clinical characteristics and that assessments of physical activity solely relying on gait can be misleading. Further, we were able to extract parameters that partially go beyond physical activity, with the potential to be used to monitor the course of disease progression and rehabilitation, or to early identify persons at risk or a sub-clinical threshold of disease severity.

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Changes in thumb tapping rates and central motor conduction times are associated in persons with multiple sclerosis

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance

Age-related changes in mobility assessments correlate with repetitive goal-directed arm-movement performance

Upper limb intention tremor assessment: opportunities and challenges in wearable technology

Going beyond PA: Assessing sensorimotor capacity with wearables in multiple sclerosis—a cross-sectional study

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