Impairments of precision grip in two patients with acute unilateral cerebellar lesions: a simple parametric test for clinical use

A precision grip task was used to test two patients with acute unilateral cerebellar lesions due to a stroke and to compare performance of the affected and the unaffected hand. The results show, that grip force development is slowed and coordination of grip and lift force impaired by the lesion. Changes in shape and peak levels of grip force rate indicate a contribution of cerebellar function to the programming of precision grip. This method should be suited to monitor the course of cerebellar disease.