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Scaling of movement velocity: A measure of neuromotor retardation in individuals with psychopathology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1998

Michael P. Caligiuri ,
James B. Lohr  and
Robert K. Ruck
Michael P. Caligiuri
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego, USA Psychiatry Service, Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA, USA
James B. Lohr
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego, USA Psychiatry Service, Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA, USA
Robert K. Ruck
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego, USA Psychiatry Service, Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA, USA
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Abstract

The study of motor slowness based on observational methods has limitations. Whether motor retardation has a psychomotor or neuromotor basis is unclear because psychiatric and motor symptoms overlap. Observational methods lack the precision necessary to distinguish cognitive from motor processes. For the present study, we used an objective measure of neuromotor dysfunction to quantify the extent to which an individual programs movement velocity in anticipation of increasing target distance. Persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) or functional psychosis were studied with a group of healthy comparison subjects. Results indicated that the slope of the linear function relating velocity to distance was abnormal in the PD group and in approximately half of the psychosis group. Analyses revealed the measure to have high specificity and sensitivity. Weak correlations between velocity scaling and psychopathology support the neuromotor basis of the measure. We conclude that this measure of velocity scaling is relatively uninfluenced by cognitive factors that may underlie psychomotor retardation.

Keywords

Motor programmingBradykinesiaInstrumentationPsychosisMotor retardation
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , July 1998 , pp. 431 - 437
Copyright
© 1998 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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Footnotes

Address reprint requests to: Michael P. Caligiuri, Department of Psychiatry (0603), University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92058, USA. E-mail: [email protected].