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Updated: May 24, 2026
Utility of Dissociated Intrinsic Hand Muscle Atrophy in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: March 4, 2014
Inspiratory- and finger-flexion-related cortical potentials in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--an
Nataša Bizovičar1, Ignac Zidar, Blaž Koritnik
1Institute of Clinical Neurophysiology, Division of Neurology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Objective:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons. Each voluntary movement, including inspiration, is preceded by movement-related cortical potential (MRCP) that can be recorded from the scalp. MRCPs of ALS patients with severe upper motor neuron involvement are smaller. Our aim was to explore whether the inspiratory-(sniffing)-related cortical potentials (SRCPs) and index-finger-flexion MRCPs (FFRCPs) can be used as markers of cortical involvement in ALS.
Methods:
Thirteen ALS patients and 15 healthy volunteers were assessed for their hand dexterity and strength, respiratory function, speech capacity, spasticity, electromyographic parameters and functional rating scales. EEG was recorded during self-paced sniffing and the right index finger flexion. The MRCP amplitudes were assessed at the relevant electrode positions.
Results:
No statistically significant difference was found between the MRCP amplitudes of the ALS patients and the control subjects. However, patients with more severely affected upper limb functions generated smaller FFRCPs and those with more affected respiratory functions generated smaller SRCPs. Excessively high FFRCPs were associated with better while excessively low FFRCPs with worse scores on some of the clinical measures of the upper limb function.
Conclusion:
Our preliminary results demonstrate that it is feasible to record SRCP in ALS patients, which combined with FFRCP, may be useful to determine the spectrum of motor control changes in this population.
