Aberrant Sensorimotor Integration in Musicians’ Cramp Patients

Simple tapping and complex movements (Luria finger apposition task) were performed unimanually and bimanually by two groups of professional guitarists while EEG was recorded from electrodes over the sensorimotor cortex. One group had a task-specific movement disorder (focal dystonia or musicians’ cramp), while the other group did not (controls). There were no significant group interactions in the task-related power (TRPow) within the alpha range of 8–10 Hz (mu1). In contrast, there was a significant group interaction within the alpha range of 10–12 Hz (mu2); these latter frequencies are associated with task-specific sensorimotor integration. The significant group interaction included task (simple and complex) by hand (left, right, and both) by electrodes (10 electrodes over the sensorimotor areas). In the rest conditions, the alpha power (10–12 Hz) was comparable between the groups; during movement, however, compared to the controls, patients demonstrated the greatest TRPow (10–12 Hz) over all conditions. This was particularly evident when patients used their affected hand and suggests that patients with musicians’ cramp have impaired task-specific sensorimotor integration.