Tapping Scores Research Articles

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling of L-dopa plasma concentrations and clinical effects in Parkinson's disease after Sinemet.

Eleven parkinsonian patients participated in a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic study in an attempt to model levodopa (L-DOPA) plasma concentrations to clinical effect. Carbidopa 25 mg/L-DOPA 100 mg (Sinemet 25/100) was given orally, and blood samples were obtained before and serially for 4 hours after the dose. Effect measurements were obtained with each blood sample and included tapping score, timed walking, and global assessment of motor function. Mean L-DOPA plasma concentrations were fitted to a one-compartment pharmacokinetic model. A time-wise plot of modeled plasma L-DOPA concentrations versus mean effect measurements revealed a counter-clockwise hysteresis. Effect compartment concentrations were determined by a least squares approach, which determined elimination rate constants by minimizing hysteresis. Half-times for the equilibration between plasma and the effect compartment were 0.39 h for tapping, 0.36 h for walking, and 0.34 h for the global score. Pharmacodynamic data were fit best with an Emax model with baseline effect for tapping (Emax = 53.2 taps/60 s, EC50 = 0.58 microgram/ml) and global score (Emax set at 5.0 by limits of scale, EC50 = 2.53 micrograms/ml). A linear model best described the relationship between predicted effect site concentration and timed walking. L-DOPA plasma concentrations after oral Sinemet did not correlate well with clinical response because clinical response lags behind plasma concentrations. Half-times for equilibration between plasma and the effect site were similar for all of the effects measured.

Reliability of verbal-manual interference

Considerable recent research has used unimanual finger tapping with concurrent vocalization to assess hemispheric lateralization for language. This study examined whether an index finger tapping task is a reliable measure in adults and whether the task demonstrates sex differences in hemispheric specialization for language. Thirty right-handed subjects, fifteen male and fifteen female, between the ages of 18 and 25 were tested. The task measured the differences in tapping rate for each hand between tapping with and without a concurrent verbal task. The task was completed once each day for 3 consecutive days to determine reliability. The tapping task was found to be a reliable measure. No significant differences were found between tapping scores of males and females.

Sex differences in neuropsychological performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate male and female performance on a subset of Halstead's ( 2 ) test instruments and procedures, further developed by Reitan (4 ) . The size of Gordon, O'Dell, and Bozeman's ( 1 ) original sample was expanded to 36, in part since several comparisons were almost significant. In that study male subjects did exhibit statistically superior performance in dominant and nondominant hand strength and dominant and nondominant finger tapping. Females were superior on left-hand fingertip number writing. As in the first study all subjects were right-handed and between the ages of 17 and 35 yr. of age. Since there was a significant difference in the mean age of the male subjects (M = 20.6, SD = 3.5) in comparison with the female subjects ( M = 18.9, SD = LO), an analysis of covariance was performed on the d3ta.l All of the five significant differences in the first study held up; in addition, the female subjects were significantly superior on left-hand finger agnosia, Tacrual Performance Tesc Memory and Location scores. There were no significant differences on right-hand fingertip number writing and finger agnosia, as well as dominant, nondominant, and both hand tactual performance scores. The size of the differences indicates that only the motor functions (strength and tapping scores) are of practical significance. Revisions of cut-off scores for the tapping test ( 5 ) seem adequate to compensate for the significant sex differences. As in systematic sex variation on WAIS subtest scores ( 3 ) , many of the other Halstead-Reitan differences seem to be of minimal clinical importance. For females the cluster of left-hand tactile and the visuo-spatial memory tasks suggest possible superior right-hemisphere functioning. This is of theoretical significance if not in the application of the Halstead tests in clinical situations.

Relationship of age and hypertension to neuropsychological test performance.

Young adult (X- = 29) and middle aged (X- =50) hypertensive and normotensive subjects were compared with respect to seven neuropsychological test scores derived from tests on the Halstead-Reitan battery. Age main effects, with inferior performance for the middle aged subjects, were observed for the localization and time portions of the Tactile Performance Test (TPT) and for the Trail Making A test. The multivariate age effect was significant for the composite of seven scores. A multivariate blood pressure main effect was obtained and main effect blood pressure was significant for the category test; hypertensives made more errors than normotensives. A blood pressure by age interaction was observed for finger tapping scores and the TPT-Memory scores with larger differences between hypertensives and normotensives for the younger than for the middle aged group. Results were discussed in terms of previous studies of age and hypertension with the WAIS, the Primary Mental Abilities Test and serial reaction time measures. The poor prediction of hypertensive status from individual neuropsychological test scores was emphasized and readers were cautioned not to conclude that essential hypertensives, as a group, can be characterized as brain damaged.

Timing control accuracy in normal speakers and stutterers.

This study attempted to assess the abilities of 10 normal speakers, five stutterers in therapy, and five stutterers no longer in therapy, to control the time program of repeated utterances. The speech sample comprised repeated sentences, paragraphs, and nursery rhymes, and a finger-tapping task was included as a control. Temporal accuracy was measured. Results suggest that (1) there is a wide range of timing abilities, even among the normal speakers, with considerable overlap between the different groups of speakers; (2) on most of the experimental tasks, normal speakers are more accurate timers than are stutterers; (3) stutterers released from therapy are more accurate timers than are stutterers still in therapy, whenever these groups differ; and (4) subjects' speech timing scores correlate moderately with their tapping scores. These results are discussed in terms of (1) theoretical timing control processes, such as a neural clock for controlling speech segment durations, and a speech motor output buffer, whose capacity may be limited in stutterers, and (2) known effects of rhythmic constraints and respiratory irregularity on fluency.

Spontaneous rhythms of perceptual motor performance in intact and damaged brain of man

A simple 15-sec maximal speed tapping task was administered every minute for 20 min to 69 healthy subjects and to 53 patients with mental disorders embodying six diagnostic categories including mental retardation. Analysis of the results showed age and diagnosis, but not gender, to be significant variables. Autocorrelation analysis of the results revealed the existence of spontaneous ultradian cycles of recurrence for all subjects, the frequency and amplitude of which discriminated the healthy subjects and only non-organically sick patients from patients with organic neurological deficits. ‘Scatter’ scores representing deviations about the mean tapping scores showed similar cyclic characteristics. The relationship between these cycles of motor performance and neural clock controlling perception is discussed.

A NEW TAPPING TEST

The psychologist has an occasional need for a tapping test which is simple, compact, inexpensive, and at the same time is fairly reliable. It is believed we have such a test. A Veeder counter (Stoelting No. 22403) was mounted in a heavy metal base although it can just as well be clamped to a heavy table. The handle of the counter projected upward on top of which was soldered a penny. A slight pressure on the projecting handle registers a number on the dial which is turned toward the examiner. The examiner demonstrates the procedure for taking the test in this manner: Take your first two fingers and extend them straight out, like this. Keep your other two fingers folded back under your thumb. When I say 'go' start tapping as fast as you can and keep on tapping until I say 'stop'! A few taps were then made rapidly on the counter in order to demonstrate further the hand position and the procedure for tapping. The subject was permitted to tap three seconds with the generally preferred hand, and three seconds with the other hand. This not only gave a preliminary practice with each hand but also permitted the examiner to correct any misunderstanding on the part of the subject. In these preliminary trials it was also pointed out to the subject that he was not to rest his arm on the table but was to let it swing free from the elbow. The actual testing consisted of tapping with the preferred hand first for six seconds, the preferred hand being considered the writing or throwing hand. The score was taken from the counter and another six seconds interval followed with the other hand. This gave an interval of rest of approximately five seconds between each tapping series. This sequence was repeated until each hand tapped three, six second intervals, giving a total of 18 seconds tapping time with each hand. A split-second stop watch was used to record the time. Preferential handedness scores were obtained by dividing the total score obtained in three series of six seconds each on one hand by the total score from three series made with the other hand, the left hand scores being used as the divisor. Each quotient was multiplied by 100. This method gave a series of scores ranging from 55 to 197. A score of 55 represents the most extreme case of left hand facility on the tapping device while a score of 179 represents the most extreme case of right hand facility. The reliability of the tapping test was determined by correlating the scores on the first series of three tests with the second series, the first with the third, and the second with the third. This gave three correlations of .64, .65, and .67. Since the total test is three times as long as any one series the Spearman-Brown formula was applied with coefficient of reliability of .84. The mean tapping scores on 707 subjects are recorded in the following table.