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Brain and Cognition
Volume 57, Issue 1, February 2005, Pages 16-20
Tennet XV
 
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doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2004.08.014    How to Cite or Link Using DOI (Opens New Window)
Copyright © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of Parkinson’s disease on the control of multi-segmental coordination

Christopher P. Bertrama, Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, Martin Lemayb and George E. Stelmachc

aUniversity College of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada V2S 7M8 bCognitive Neuroscience Center, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Que., Canada H3C 3P8 cMotor Control Laboratory, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-0404, United States

Accepted 12 August 2004. 
Available online 17 November 2004.

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Abstract

An experiment was designed to test whether or not Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients were able to maintain endpoint kinematic patterns in a prehension task involving movement of the torso. Nine PD patients and nine healthy controls were asked to reach for and grasp a full cup of water that was either covered or uncovered and placed beyond the reach of the outstretched arm. An OPTOTRAK (Northern Digital) 3-dimensional motion analysis system was used to capture the movement of four markers placed on the arm, hand, and torso. The results indicated the Parkinson’s patients had a decreased ability to maintain the kinematics of the end effector. The PD patients were also found to be impaired in terms of their ability to synchronize the arm, hand, and torso. More specifically, although the elderly controls seemed to employ a strategy of increasing the involvement of the torso when reaching to grasp the uncovered cup, no such strategy was observed in the PD patients. Collectively, the results suggest that the multi-joint synergies observed in the elderly controls, which help preserve relatively consistent endpoint trajectories, are disrupted in Parkinson’s patients.

Keywords: Coordination; Motor control; Reach; Grasp

Article Outline

1. Introduction
2. Methodology
2.1. Participants
2.2. Apparatus
2.3. Procedure
2.4. Data processing and analysis
3. Results
3.1. The upper limb
3.2. The torso
4. Discussion
Acknowledgements
References


Brain and Cognition
Volume 57, Issue 1, February 2005, Pages 16-20
Tennet XV
 
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