Abstract
Background: This study investigates the effect of altered auditory feedback (AAF) in musician's dystonia (MD) and discusses whether AAF can be considered as a sensory trick in MD. Furthermore, the effect of AAF is compared with altered tactile feedback, which can serve as a sensory trick in several other forms of focal dystonia.Methods: The method is based on scale analysis (Jabusch et al., 2004). Experiment 1 employs synchronization paradigm: 12 MD patients and 25 healthy pianists had to repeatedly play C-major scales in synchrony with a metronome on a MIDI-piano with three auditory feedback conditions: (1) normal feedback; (2) no feedback; (3) constant delayed feedback. Experiment 2 employs synchronization-continuation paradigm: 12 MD patients and 12 healthy pianists had to repeatedly play C-major scales in two phases: first in synchrony with a metronome, secondly continue the established tempo without the metronome. There are four experimental conditions, among them three are the same AAF as in Experiment 1 and 1 is related to altered tactile sensory input. The coefficient of variation of inter-onset intervals of the key depressions was calculated to evaluate fine motor control.Results: In both experiments, the healthy controls and the patients behaved very similarly. There is no difference in the regularity of playing between the two groups under any condition, and neither did AAF nor did altered tactile feedback have a beneficial effect on patients' fine motor control.Conclusions: The results of the two experiments suggest that in the context of our experimental designs, AAF and altered tactile feedback play a minor role in motor coordination in patients with musicians' dystonia. We propose that altered auditory and tactile feedback do not serve as effective sensory tricks and may not temporarily reduce the symptoms of patients suffering from MD in this experimental context.
Highlights
Dystonia in pianists belongs to a group of dystonic movement disorders termed focal hand dystonias (Chen and Hallett, 1998)
This study investigates the effect of altered auditory feedback (AAF) in musician’s dystonia (MD) and discusses whether AAF can be considered as a sensory trick in MD
The results of the two experiments suggest that in the context of our experimental designs, AAF and altered tactile feedback play a minor role in motor coordination in patients with musicians’ dystonia
Summary
Dystonia in pianists belongs to a group of dystonic movement disorders termed focal hand dystonias (Chen and Hallett, 1998). Cutaneous stimuli may reduce the severity of motor symptoms in some forms of focal dystonia. Studies into the “geste antagoniste,” a sensory trick reducing severity of Torticollis, (a focal dystonia causing involuntary movements of the muscles of neck and shoulder) suggested that successful sensory tricks can be regarded as perceptual dysbalance, induce increased activation of the parietal cortex and together with the frontal cortex, mediates distinct sensorimotor transformations that can help with correcting the long-term dystonic posture. The effect of AAF is compared with altered tactile feedback, which can serve as a sensory trick in several other forms of focal dystonia
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