Insight into the Relationship Between Motor and Cognitive Symptoms in Essential Tremor

Abstract

Essential tremor (ET) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by bilateral upper limbs action tremor and, possibly, neurological signs of uncertain significance, including voluntary movement abnormalities and cognitive disturbances, i.e., the so-called ‘soft’ signs configuring the ET-plus definition. While motor and cognitive disturbances often coexist in ET, their interrelationship remains largely unexplored. Here we aim to further investigate the relationship between motor symptoms, objectively assessed through kinematic analysis, and cognitive dysfunctions in ET. Seventy ET patients underwent clinical examination, as well as kinematic recordings of tremor and finger tapping and a thorough cognitive assessment. We then tested clinic-demographic and kinematic differences between patients with and without cognitive abnormalities, i.e., with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Correlation analysis served to explore potential associations between kinematic and cognitive data. Forty-three ET patients (61.42%) had MCI. ET-MCI patients exhibited reduced movement velocity during finger tapping compared to those with normal cognition (p < 0.001). Lower movement velocity during finger tapping was associated with poorer cognitive performance. Namely, we observed a correlation between movement velocity and performance on the Babcock Story Immediate and Delayed Recall Test (r = 0.52 and r = 0.45, both p < 0.001), as well as the interference memory task at 10 and 30 s (r = 0.3, p = 0.008 and r = 0.2, p = 0.03). In this study, we have provided data for a better pathophysiological interpretation of motor and cognitive signs in ET, including the role played by the cerebellum or extra-cerebellar areas, which possibly underpin both signs.