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Hand-motor dysfunction in depression: characteristics and pharmacological effects.

Roland Mergl¹, Oliver Pogarell, Georg Juckel

¹Dept. of Psychiatry, University Leipzig, Germany. roland.mergl@medizin.uni-leipzig.de

Clinical EEG and Neuroscience

|May 23, 2007

Summary

Depressed patients exhibit motor control issues, particularly in handwriting. Reboxetine improved fine motor skills in depression, while citalopram showed no significant effect on hand movements.

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Methods to Quantify Pharmacologically Induced Alterations in Motor Function in Human Incomplete SCI

Methods to Quantify Pharmacologically Induced Alterations in Motor Function in Human Incomplete SCI

Published on: April 18, 2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Movement Science

Background:

Motor retardation is a key symptom of depression.
Kinematic analysis offers a method to study motor dysfunction and antidepressant side effects.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate fine motor performance in depressed patients.
Compare the motor side effects of reboxetine (a selective noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor) and citalopram (a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) after 4 weeks of treatment.

Main Methods:

Utilized a digitizing graphic tablet and kinematic analysis for handwriting and rapid drawing movements.
Examined 37 depressed patients and 37 healthy controls in Study I.
Assessed 16 depressed patients on citalopram and 12 on reboxetine in Study II.

Main Results:

Depressed patients showed less regular drawing velocity and slower handwriting compared to controls.
Reboxetine significantly improved repetitive drawing movements in depressed patients.
Citalopram did not demonstrate pronounced effects on hand movements in this cohort.

Conclusions:

Irregular velocity patterns in depressed patients suggest basal ganglia or sensorimotor cortex dysfunction.
Computer-aided hand movement analysis is a sensitive tool for detecting differential drug effects on motor function in depression.