Abstract
This study investigated the neuromagnetic activities of self-paced finger lifting task and electrical median nerve stimulation in ten writer's cramp patients and fourteen control subjects. The event-related de/synchronizations (ERD/ERS) of beta-band activity levels were evaluated and the somatosensory cortical activity levels were analyzed using equivalent-current dipole modeling. No significant difference between the patients and control subjects was found in the electrical stimulation-induced beta ERS and electrical evoked somatosensory cortical responses. Movement-related beta ERD did not differ between controls and patients. Notably, the amplitude of the beta ERS after termination of finger movement was significantly lower in the patients than in the control subjects. The reduced movement-related beta ERS might reflect an impairment of motor cortex deactivation. In conclusion, a motor dependent dysregulation of the sensorimotor network seems to be involved in the functional impairment of patients with writer's cramp.
Highlights
Writers’ cramp (WC) is a task-specific focal dystonia [1]
There were no differences in the averaged rectified EMG burst durations between the two groups
The data obtained from patient 2 was included in the statistical analysis
Summary
Writers’ cramp (WC) is a task-specific focal dystonia [1]. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown, an involvement of the motor cortical areas has been proposed [2,3]. Excessive movement is involved, which includes abnormal muscle activity, co-contraction of antagonist muscles and over flow of activity into muscles not intended for the task [1]. Disturbance in motor performance is the most apparent manifestation among patients with focal dystonia, sensory trick phenomena have been observed [4]. Abnormalities in sensorimotor integration have been reported among focal dystonia patients [7]. The specific pathophysiological involvement of sensory and motor cortical processing has not been well clarified as yet
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