BACKGROUND Upper extremity deficits are prevalent in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). In the early stages of PD, such deficits can be subtle and challenging to document on clinical examination. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to use a novel force sensor system to characterize grip force modulation, including force, temporal, and movement quality parameters, during a fine motor...

The performance of patients with Parkinson's disease on two reach-to-grasp tasks was compared with that of age-matched control subjects. The aim of the study was to determine whether Parkinson's disease patients have problems coordinating concurrently executed tasks within the same system of effectors in a natural context and whether such problems would be exacerbated by increases in task diffi...

The performance of simultaneous movements is said to be disrupted in Parkinson's disease, yet there are some indications that this dysfunction is less evident for bilateral inter-limb actions, as opposed to unilateral simultaneous actions. Focussing specifically upon natural actions, this study uses a three-dimensional kinematics system (ELITE) to assess the movement kinematics of a bilateral n...

PURPOSE Regaining hand function has been identified as the highest priority for persons with tetraplegia. In many patients, finger flexion can be restored with a tendon transfer of extensor carpi radialis longus to flexor digitorum profundus (FDP). In the absence of intrinsic function, this results in a roll-up finger movement, which tends to push large objects out of grasp. To enable patients ...

A fundamental question is how the CNS controls the hand with its many degrees of freedom. Several motor cortical areas, including the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and primary motor cortex (M1), are involved in reach to grasp. Although neurons in PMd are known to modulate in relation to the type of grasp and neurons in M1 in relation to grasp force and finger movements, whether specific paramete...