Quantitative assessment of finger motor performance: Normative data.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomechanics
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Finger opposition movements are crucial for daily activities and object manipulation.
• An engineered glove quantifies motor performance in finger opposition sequences, aiding in detecting subtle neurological motor impairments.
• Published reference values for these behavioral parameters are currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normative values for motor behavioral parameters in healthy individuals performing repeated finger opposition movements.
• To investigate the influence of gender and age on these motor performance parameters.
• To provide a baseline for assessing fine motor skills.

Main Methods:

• Collected normative data from 255 healthy volunteers across a wide age range and stratified by gender.
• Assessed parameters including touch duration, inter-tapping interval, movement rate, sequence correctness, metronome cue adherence, and inter-hand interval.
• Utilized an engineered glove for quantitative assessment of finger opposition movement sequences.

Main Results:

• Older age correlated with reduced movement speed, decreased adherence to cues, lower sequence correctness, and impaired bimanual coordination.
• Gender differences were minimal, primarily affecting finger touch duration and inter-tap intervals.
• Age-related declines in fine motor control were quantitatively demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• Age- and gender-specific normative values for finger opposition movement parameters have been established.
• These reference values are valuable for clinicians in identifying subtle motor deficits.
• The findings support the use of quantitative glove-based assessments for neurological motor impairment evaluation.