Facial and upper-limb movement abnormalities in individuals with psychotic-like experiences: a motion analysis study.

Slow movements and irregular muscle contraction have been reported separately in different studies targeting individuals with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). To date, it remains unknown whether these two movement abnormalities, possibly associated with hypo- and hyper-dopaminergia, respectively, co-existed in one sample with PLEs and interrelated in the early stage of psychotic progression. Therefore, this study was to examine if facial and upper-limb slow movements and irregular muscle contraction co-existed in individuals with PLEs, interrelated, and were associated with PLEs. A total of 26 individuals with PLEs, who were identified using the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire, and 26 age- and gender-matched healthy controls received the facial and upper-limb movement measurement. A motion capture system was used to record the movement procedure and thus calculate kinematic variables that represented severity of slow movements and irregular muscle contraction. Results showed that facial and upper-limb slow movements and facial irregular muscle contraction existed in individuals with PLEs. For the total sample, slower facial movements were associated with less regular facial muscle contraction; slower upper-limb movements were associated with less regular upper-limb muscle contraction. Slower and less regular facial and upper-limb movements were associated with more severe PLEs. Compensatory changes in dopaminergic neural pathways in response to elevated dopamine might explain connection between slow movements and irregular muscle contraction. Because of the ability to detect facial and upper-limb movement abnormalities objectively and sensitively, motion analysis has great applicability to sensorimotor studies for people in the psychosis continuum.

Rhythmic auditory stimulation incorporated in training improved movements in individuals with psychotic-like experiences.

Movement abnormalities, including movement slowing and irregular muscle contraction, exist in individuals with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and serve as vulnerable factors of developing psychotic diseases in the psychosis continuum. To date scarce studies have developed early intervention programs tackling these initial impairments, which may be caused by basal ganglia alterations, in the early stage of the psychosis course. Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) is a technique of neurological music therapy and has been proved effective in inducing faster movements in patients with psychotic diseases. This pilot study examined if RAS incorporated in functional movement training reduced severity of movement slowing and irregular muscle contraction in individuals with PLEs. Seventeen individuals with PLEs were randomly allocated to receiving RAS or receiving no RAS and underwent daily 40-min movement training (picking up beans) for three weeks. This study used motion analysis to measure movement performance at pretest and posttest. Eighteen age- and gender-matched individuals without PLEs were also recruited to provide data of intact movements. Results showed that RAS may reduce severity of movement slowing and irregular muscle contraction in individuals with PLEs. This pilot study is one of the pioneering studies validating effectiveness of early intervention programs tackling movement abnormalities, which are initial impairments in the psychosis continuum, in individuals with PLEs.

Comprehension of handwriting development: Pen-grip kinetics in handwriting tasks and its relation to fine motor skills among school-age children.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Numerous tools have been developed to evaluate handwriting performances by analysing written products. However, few studies have directly investigated kinetic performances of digits when holding a pen. This study thus attempts to investigate pen-grip kinetics during writing tasks of school-age children and explore the relationship between the kinetic factors and fine motor skills. METHODS: This study recruited 181 children aged from 5 to 12 years old and investigated the effects of age on handwriting kinetics and the relationship between these and fine motor skills. The forces applied from the digits and pen-tip were measured during writing tasks via a force acquisition pen, and the children's fine motor performances were also evaluated. RESULTS: The results indicate that peak force and average force might not be direct indicators of handwriting performance for normally developing children at this age. Younger children showed larger force variation and lower adjustment frequency during writing, which might indicate they had poorer force control than the older children. Force control when handling a pen is significantly correlated with fine motor performance, especially in relation to the manual dexterity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: A novel system is proposed for analysing school-age children's force control while handwriting. We observed the development of force control in relation to pen grip among the children with different ages in this study. The findings suggested that manipulation skill may be crucial when children are establishing their handwriting capabilities.

Impact of distal median neuropathy on handwriting performance for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome in office and administrative support occupations.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the handwriting performance of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and healthy controls in office and administrative support occupations, adopting both biomechanical and functional perspectives. This work also explores how surgical intervention altered the performance of the CTS patients. METHODS: Fourteen CTS patients and 14 control subjects were recruited to complete a self-reported survey and participate in sensory tests, hand strength, dexterity and handwriting tasks using a custom force acquisition pen along with motion capture technology. Based on the results of these, the sensory measurements, along with functional and biomechanical parameters, were used to determine the differences between the groups and also reveal any improvements that occurred in the CTS group after surgical intervention. RESULTS: The CTS patients showed significantly poorer hand sensibility and dexterity than the controls, as well as excessive force exertion of the digits and pen tip, and less efficient force adjustment ability during handwriting. After surgery and sensory recovery, the hand dexterity and pen tip force of the CTS patients improved significantly. The force adjustment abilities of the digits also increased, but these changes were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the objective measurements and novel apparatus that can be used to determine impairments in the handwriting abilities of office or administrative workers with CTS. The results can also help clinicians or patients to better understand the sensory-related deficits in sensorimotor control of the hand related to CTS, and thus develop and implement more suitable training or adaptive protocols.

Speech Perception and Quality-of-Life Outcomes in Mandarin-Speaking Postlingual Deaf Adults With Cochlear Implant: Any Difference With the Intonation Language Users?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of related factors on long-term speech perception and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes in postlingual deaf Mandarin-speaking adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients and to assess any differences between tone language and other intonation language CI adult users. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cases review. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Forty-five adult CI recipients (48 implanted ears). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Post-CI outcomes were evaluated after follow-ups of more than 24 months using speech perception tests and QoL questionnaires. We analyzed the related factors affecting CI outcomes. RESULTS: A shorter duration of profound deafness was predictive factors for better post-CI speech perception. Earlier implantation and better performance of vowel scores were predictive of better subjective improvements in social and emotional life. Post-CI vowel scores of over 56% indicated promising improvements in QoL. CONCLUSION: Shorter duration of deafness could have better post-CI speech perception. Post-CI vowel scores instead of monosyllable words have the more potential to predict the QoL in Mandarin-speaking adult CI recipients.

An Instrumental Measure of Hand and Facial Movement Abnormalities in Patients With Schizophrenia.

Introduction: Movement disorders have been suggested to be a cardinal component of schizophrenia. With increased research interests in this area, instrumental measures are needed. This study was to examine if the motion capture system was reliable in measuring hand and facial bradykinesia and dyskinesia and more sensitive to detecting movement differences between schizophrenia patients and healthy people than traditional rating scales. Methods: Sixteen schizophrenia patients and 20 control subjects were recruited. Hand and facial bradykinesia and dyskinesia were measured using the motion capture system and rated using the Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale. Results: The system showed strong test-retest reliability and generated larger effect sizes of group differences than did the rating scales. Conclusions: The results may support researchers and clinical practitioners to apply the system to sensitively measuring the hand and facial movement symptoms in schizophrenia patients, which contributes to gaining a deep understanding of movement issues in schizophrenia.

The effect of task complexity on handwriting kinetics.

BACKGROUND.: Knowledge regarding the relationship between writing kinetics and the difference among writing tasks is limited. PURPOSE.: This study examined the differences in handwriting performance when doing tasks with different levels of challenge from both temporal and kinetic perspectives among children in four different age groups. METHOD.: The cross-sectional design introduced a force-acquisition pen to detect differences of pen grip and writing kinetics among 170 school-age children doing writing tasks at different difficulty levels. Data were obtained on the force information of the digits and pen tip and the kinetic parameters to examine the coordination-and-control mechanism between the digits and pen. Statistical analyzes were carried out to indicate the differences in writing performance among groups and tasks. FINDINGS.: Statistical differences in the pen-grip forces, force fluctuation, and force ratio between grip and pen-tip forces were found when performing different writing tasks and among different age groups. IMPLICATIONS.: The study provides an alternative method to explore how writing performance among school-age children can vary according to the difficulty of the writing tasks.

Effects of object size and distance on reaching kinematics in patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Patients with schizophrenia not only have psychiatric symptoms, but also have movement problems, which might also be associated with their reduced quality of life. Little is known about how to improve their movement performance for patients. Manipulating object size and distance is common in occupational therapy practice to evaluate and optimize reaching performance in patients with physical disabilities, but effects of the manipulation in patients with schizophrenia remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether object size and distance could change performance of reaching kinematics in patients with mild schizophrenia. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with mild schizophrenia and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were required to reach for, as quickly as possible, a small or large object that was placed at a near or far distance. We measured movement time, peak velocity, path length ratio, percentage of time to peak velocity, and movement units to infer movement speed, forcefulness, spatial efficiency (directness), control strategies, and smoothness. RESULTS: Patients' reaching movements were slower (p = .017) and less direct (p = .007) than those of controls. A larger object induced faster (p = .016), more preprogrammed (p = .018), and more forceful (p = .010) movements in patients. A farther object induced slower, more feedback dependent, but more forceful and more direct movements (all p < .001). CONCLUSION: The results of kinematic deficiencies suggest the need of movement training for patients with mild schizophrenia. Occupational therapists may grade or adapt reaching activities by changing object size and distance to enhance movement performance in patients with schizophrenia.

Effects of object size on unimanual and bimanual movements in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects not only mental function but also movement. We compared the movement of patients with mild schizophrenia and healthy control participants during a bimanual assembly task and examined whether changes in object size affected unimanual and bimanual movements. Fifteen patients with schizophrenia and 15 age- and gender-matched control participants were instructed to bimanually reach for and assemble objects. We manipulated the object size for the left hand (large vs. small) and measured movement time, peak velocity, and bimanual synchronization to represent movement speed, forcefulness, and bimanual coordination. Patients with schizophrenia showed slower and less forceful unimanual movements and less coordinated bimanual movements than control participants. Increasing the object size elicited faster and more forceful unimanual movements and more coordinated bimanual movements in patients. The results suggest the need for movement rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia and the possibility of manipulating object size to optimize patients' movements. These results benefit the practice of evidence-based therapy.

A fast-moving target in the Valpar assembly task improved unimanual and bimanual movements in patients with schizophrenia.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of target speed on unimanual and bimanual movements during a bimanual prehension and assembly task in patients with mild schizophrenia and healthy controls. METHOD: Fifteen patients with schizophrenia and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were instructed to reach and assemble spacers with both hands for a target that moved at two speeds: fast or slow. Dependent variables were movement kinematics: movement time, number of movement units and timing intervals between both hands. RESULTS: A fast-moving target induced shorter movement times, fewer movement units and shorter timing intervals than did a slow-moving target for patients. Under the slow-target condition, patients had longer movement times and a longer timing interval during prehension, as well as longer movement times, more movement units and a longer timing interval during assembly than did controls. Under the fast-target condition, patients still had slower and less-synchronized prehension than did controls, but their assembly improved to a level similar to that of controls. CONCLUSIONS: A fast-moving target induced faster, smoother and more synchronized movements than did a slow-moving target for patients with schizophrenia, especially during assembly. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: A fast-moving target might elicit faster, smoother, and more synchronized movements than might a slow-moving target during a bimanual assembly task for patients with mild schizophrenia. The findings of impaired movement kinematics under the slow-target condition suggest that patients with schizophrenia need movement training.