Measuring Hand Sensory Function and Force Control in Older Adults: Are Current Hand Assessment Tools Enough?

Abstract

Background The ability to grasp and manipulate objects is essential for performing activities of daily living. However, there is limited information regarding age-related behavioral differences in hand sensorimotor function due, in part, to the lack of assessment tools capable of measuring subtle but important differences in hand function. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate performance differences in submaximal force control and tactile pattern recognition in healthy older adults using two custom-designed sensorimotor assessment tools. Methods Sensorimotor function was assessed in 13 healthy older adults (mean age 72.2 ±5.5y, range: 65-84y) and 13 young adults (mean age 20 ±1.4y, range: 19-23y). Clinical assessments included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), monofilament testing, maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), and Grooved Pegboard Test. Sensorimotor assessments included submaximal (5, 20% MVC) grip force step-tracking and tactile pattern recognition tasks. Results Clinical assessments revealed no or minimal group differences in MVC, monofilament thresholds, and MoCA. However, sensorimotor assessments showed that older adults took longer to discriminate tactile patterns and had poorer accuracy than young adults. Older adults also produced submaximal forces less smoothly than young adults at the 20% force level while greater variability in force maintenance was seen at 5% but not 20% MVC. Conclusions These results demonstrate the ability to integrate higher-order tactile information and control low grip forces is impaired in older adults despite no differences in grip strength or cognition. These findings underscore the need for more sensitive evaluation methods that focus on sensorimotor ability reflective of daily activities.

Older adults are impaired in the release of grip force during a force tracking task

“…Since TPD was correlated to most force tracking performance variables across all three phases of force tracking, group force tracking performance differences likely are related in part to age-related sensation degradation. Previous studies have found decline in performance with TPD and SWMT with aging (Kaneko et al 2005 ; Logue et al 2022 ). Although there were no group differences with SWMT, TPD has been found to correlate with object identification (Novak et al 1993a , b ) and predicts performance for tasks that require sustained pinch grip, more so than the SWMT (Dellon and Kallman 1983 ).…”

Tryptophan–Kynurenine Pathway Activation and Cognition in Virally Suppressed Women With HIV

“…More sensitive and specific tests are needed to evaluate the functional impact of motor decline in PWH. 39,40 Dysfunction in other components of motor function such as muscle strength, coordination, and gait (which were not evaluated in this analysis) have also been observed in the context of HIV [41][42][43] ; future studies are required to identify whether IDO activation is associated with deficits across the spectrum of motor functioning in HIV. IDO activation is strongly associated to aging and chronic inflammatory conditions such as osteoporosis, and independently predicts mortality in PWH on ART.…”