Kinematic analysis of limb movements in neuropsychological research: subtle deficits and recovery of function

In this brief review, we argue that a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal characteristics of visually guided limb movements can provide important insights into the nature of neuropsychological deficits and the functional organization of the brain. In particular, we will show how kinematic analysis of a simple aiming movement can reveal differences that might not be apparent clinically in the behaviour of patients with unilateral brain lesions. We will argue that the subtle but distinctive deficits that follow damage to the left or right hemisphere can be related to the clinical syndromes of manual apraxia and hemispatial neglect, respectively. The fact that these deficits are apparent only with kinematic analysis demonstrates the potential of these techniques for evaluating recovery of function.