Fingertip forces during object manipulation in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. I: Anticipatory scaling

Previous studies of grasping and object manipulation in children with cerebral palsy (CP) have suggested a dichotomy in the ability to use anticipatory control (planning) of the fingertip force output, depending on the type of sensory information (tactile or proprioceptive) on which it is based. The present study further explores this issue by testing the ability of 15 children with hemiplegic CP aged between 8 and 14 years to scale the fingertip force output in advance during the lifting of small objects whose weight and surface texture are varied. The results indicate that children with hemiplegia can use anticipatory control based on both the weight and texture of the object, but require a greater number of trials than age‐matched children without CP (control children) before they can do so. We suggest that the initial lack of anticipatory control results from an indistinct internal representation of the object's physical properties due to disturbed sensory mechanisms, which may have direct implications for therapeutic intervention.

[1]  P. Uvebrant,et al.  HEMIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY AETIOLOGY AND OUTCOME , 1988, Acta paediatrica Scandinavica. Supplement.

[2]  E. Moberg Criticism and studvy of methods for examining sensibility in the hand* , 1962, Neurology.

[3]  P. Burtner,et al.  Neural and musculoskeletal contributions to the development of stance balance control in typical children and in children with cerebral palsy , 1996, Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). Supplement.

[4]  C. Moore,et al.  Simulated gait patterns: the resulting effects on gait parameters, dynamic electromyography, joint moments, and physiological cost index , 1996 .

[5]  R. Johansson,et al.  Tactile sensory coding in the glabrous skin of the human hand , 1983, Trends in Neurosciences.

[6]  M. Yekutiel,et al.  SENSORY DEFICIT IN THE HANDS OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY: A NEW LOOK AT ASSESSMENT AND PREVALENCE , 1994, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[7]  H. Forssberg,et al.  TACTILE CONTROL OF ISOMETRIC FINGERTIP FORCES DURING GRASPING IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY , 1995, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[8]  Umberto Castiello,et al.  Insights into the reach to grasp movement , 1994 .

[9]  Richard W. Bohannon,et al.  Interrater reliability of a modified Ashworth scale of muscle spasticity. , 1987, Physical therapy.

[10]  P. W. Nathan TREATMENT OF SPASTICITY WITH PERINEURAL INJECTIONS OF PHENOL , 1969, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[11]  D. Mclellan C0-contraction and stretch reflexes in spasticity during treatment with baclofen. , 1977, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[12]  H Forssberg,et al.  IMPAIRED ANTICIPATORY CONTROL OF ISOMETRIC FORCES DURING GRASPING BY CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY , 1992, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[13]  Bert Steenbergen,et al.  The timing of prehensile movements in subjects with cerebral palsy , 1998, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[14]  D. G. Lawrence,et al.  The functional organization of the motor system in the monkey. I. The effects of bilateral pyramidal lesions. , 1968, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[15]  J. K. Brown,et al.  A NEUROLOGICAL STUDY OF HAND FUNCTION OF HEMIPLEGIC CHILDREN , 1987, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[16]  A. Gordon,et al.  Chapter 3 Development of the Reach to Grasp Movement , 1994 .

[17]  H. Forssberg,et al.  BASIC CO‐ORDINATION OF MANIPULATIVE FORCES OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY , 1991, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[18]  R. L. Linscheid,et al.  Forces in the normal and abnormal hand , 1985, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[19]  I. Lesný,et al.  SENSORY DISORDERS IN CEREBRAL PALSY; TWO‐POINT DISCRIMINATION , 1993, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[20]  C. T. Leonard,et al.  DEFICITS IN RECIPROCAL INHIBITION OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY AS REVEALED BY H REFLEX TESTING , 1990, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[21]  Hans Forssberg,et al.  Formation and lateralization of internal representations underlying motor commands during precision grip , 1994, Neuropsychologia.

[22]  P. Neilson,et al.  Control Of Isometric Muscle Activity In Cerebral Palsy , 1990, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[23]  K. J. Cole,et al.  Memory representations underlying motor commands used during manipulation of common and novel objects. , 1993, Journal of neurophysiology.

[24]  K. Yokochi,et al.  Assessment of upper and lower extremity movements in hemiplegic children , 1992, Brain and Development.