Abstract
Task-specific focal dystonia is a movement disorder that is characterized by the loss of voluntary motor control in extensively trained movements. Musician's dystonia is a type of task-specific dystonia that is elicited in professional musicians during instrumental playing. The disorder has been associated with deficits in timing. In order to test the hypothesis that basic timing abilities are affected by musician's dystonia, we investigated a group of patients (N = 15) and a matched control group (N = 15) on a battery of sensory and sensorimotor synchronization tasks. Results did not show any deficits in auditory-motor processing for patients relative to controls. Both groups benefited from a pacing sequence that adapted to their timing (in a sensorimotor synchronization task at a stable tempo). In a purely perceptual task, both groups were able to detect a misaligned metronome when it was late rather than early relative to a musical beat. Overall, the results suggest that basic timing abilities stay intact in patients with musician's dystonia. This supports the idea that musician's dystonia is a highly task-specific movement disorder in which patients are mostly impaired in tasks closely related to the demands of actually playing their instrument.
Highlights
Task-specific focal dystonia is a movement disorder that manifests itself as a loss of voluntary motor control in extensively trained movements [1,2,3,4]
With an estimated one percent of professional musicians being affected by musician’s dystonia (MD), the prevalence of MD is much higher compared to other forms of focal dystonia in the general population [1]
This study investigated MD patients’ timing perception and production capacities away from their instrument
Summary
Task-specific focal dystonia is a movement disorder that manifests itself as a loss of voluntary motor control in extensively trained movements [1,2,3,4] This type of dystonia clearly impairs patients’ ability to perform certain movements, it has been suggested that movement processing, planning, somatosensory functions and aspects of timing are affected [5,6]. When picking up a pen or writing some words, dystonic postures of the hand occur that disrupt the speed and accuracy of writing [7] Another form of task-specific dystonia is musician’s dystonia (MD), which is characterized by impairments related to instrumental playing in professional musicians. These therapies seem to have positive effect in about half of the patients but, the disorder often forces musicians to change profession [14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
