BACKGROUND After stroke, deregulated interhemispheric interactions influence residual paretic hand function. Anodal or cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can rebalance these abnormal interhemispheric interactions and improve motor function. OBJECTIVE We explored whether dual-hemisphere tDCS (dual-tDCS) in participants with chronic stroke can improve fine hand motor functi...

A steadiness-improving intervention was used to determine the contribution of variability in motor unit discharge rate to the fluctuations in index finger acceleration and manual dexterity in older adults. Ten healthy and sedentary old adults (age 72.9 +/- 5.8 yr; 5 men) participated in the study involving abduction of the left index finger. Single motor unit activity was recorded in the first ...

The aim of the present study was to observe the changes in hand flexibility of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and the effect of dual-task interference. Patients with PD were distributed into two subgroups: the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutation PD (LRRK2+) and the LRRK2 mutation-free (LRRK2-) PD groups. The healthy controls were distributed into two subgroups: the LRRK2+ cont...

OBJECTIVE To assess changes and responsiveness in outcome measures of mobility, balance, muscle strength and manual dexterity in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1. DESIGN A 9-year longitudinal study conducted with 113 patients. METHODS The responsiveness of the Timed Up and Go test, Berg Balance Scale, quantitative muscle testing, grip and pinch-grip strength, and Purdue Pegboard Test w...

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is relatively smaller, and the corpus callosum (CC) larger, in adults with Tourette syndrome (TS). The authors explored the possible roles of the PFC and the CC in mediating interhemispheric interference and coordination in TS adults. They measured performance on M. Kinsbourne and J. Cook's (1971) verbal-manual interference task and on the bimanual Purdue Pegboard in...

BACKGROUND Focal single-session repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the primary motor cortex has been claimed to be capable of improving motor function in Parkinson's disease. OBJECTIVE The authors sought to determine which type of rTMS protocol holds the highest potential for future therapeutic application. METHODS Twenty-two patients with Parkinson's disease received 5 ...

AIMS/INTRODUCTION The purpose of the present study was to identify whether there are differences in hand dexterity, hand functional performance and quality of life between diabetes patients with mononeuropathy and polyneuropathy of their hands to further present the importance regarding the impacts of diabetic neuropathic deficits on patients' functional capacity. MATERIALS AND METHODS The ne...

Norms for the Gardner Steadiness Test and the Purdue Pegboard were developed for the neuropsychological assessment of children in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro. A computer-generated unbiased sample of 346 children with a mean age of 9.4 years (SD = 2.76), who were attending a large normal public school in this urban area, was the subject of this study. Two boys were removed from the s...