The difference in visuomotor feedback velocity control during spiral drawing between Parkinson's disease and essential tremor
Journal
Neurological Sciences
Journal Volume
39
Journal Issue
6
Pages
1057-1063
Date Issued
2018
Author(s)
Abstract
In a spiral task, the accuracy of the spiral trajectory, which is affected by tracing or tracking ability, differs between patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). However, not many studies have analyzed velocity differences between the groups during this task. This study aimed to examine differences between the groups related to this characteristic using a tablet. Fourteen PD, 12 ET, and 12 control group participants performed two tasks: tracing a given spiral (T1) and following a guiding point (T2). A digitized tablet was used to record movements and trajectory. Effects of direct visual feedback on intergroup and intragroup velocity were measured. Although PD patients had a significantly lower T1 velocity than the control group (p < 0.05), they could match the velocity of the guiding point (3.0?cm/s) in T2. There was no significant difference in the average T1 velocity between ET and the control groups (p = 0.26); however, the T2 velocity of ET patients was significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05). They were also unable to adjust the velocity to match the guiding point, indicating that ET patients have a poorer ability to follow dynamic guidance. When both groups of patients have similar action tremor severity, their ability to follow dynamic guidance was still significantly different. Our study combined visual feedback with spiral drawing and demonstrated differences in the following-velocity distribution in PD and ET. This method may be used to distinguish the tremor presentation of both diseases, and thus, provide accurate diagnosis. ? 2018, Springer-Verlag Italia S.r.l., part of Springer Nature.
Subjects
Essential tremor; Parkinson’s disease; Spiral drawing; Visual feedback
SDGs
Other Subjects
adult; aged; Article; clinical article; controlled study; disease severity; drawing; essential tremor; eye hand coordination; eye tracking; human; middle aged; Parkinson disease; sensorimotor integration; spiral drawing; task performance; velocity; visual feedback; visuomotor coordination; biomechanics; comparative study; essential tremor; feedback system; hand; motor performance; Parkinson disease; pathophysiology; personal digital assistant; physiology; psychology; very elderly; vision; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomechanical Phenomena; Computers, Handheld; Essential Tremor; Feedback; Hand; Humans; Middle Aged; Motor Skills; Parkinson Disease; Visual Perception
Type
journal article