Manual dexterity and grip force are distinctly linked to domains of neurological soft signs in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

IF 3.6 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Schizophrenia Research Pub Date : 2025-03-01 DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2025.02.010

Sofie von Känel , Anastasia Pavlidou , Niluja Nadesalingam , Victoria Chapellier , Melanie G. Nuoffer , Alexandra Kyrou , Lydia Maderthaner , Florian Wüthrich , Stephanie Lefebvre , Sebastian Walther

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Motor abnormalities are highly prevalent among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Very likely, motor control processes, such as dexterity and grip force (GF), are impaired in schizophrenia. We aimed to explore associations between various motor abnormalities and motor control processes and to investigate whether specific motor abnormalities predict the performance of fine motor movements and GF.

Our analyses included 198 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We applied well-established standardized motor rating scales to assess five different motor abnormalities: psychomotor slowing (PS), neurological soft signs (NSS), parkinsonism, catatonia, and dyskinesia. As a measure of manual dexterity, we used the coin rotation (CR) task, requiring patients to rotate a coin between their thumb, index, and middle finger. Maximal grip strength was measured with the GF task.

Correlation analyses revealed that both CR and GF performances were associated with different motor abnormalities, most strongly with NSS (CR: tau = −0.263, p < 0.001; GF: tau = −0.208, p < 0.001). Hierarchical regression showed that NSS predicted performance on the CR and GF task better compared to PS, parkinsonism, and catatonia alone (CR: ∆R² = 0.09, F = 22.26, p < 0.001; GF: ∆R² = 0.02, F = 6.61, p < 0.001). When looking within the NSS domains, CR performance was predicted better by motor coordination and sequencing of motor acts, whereas GF was predicted better by sensory integration.

Motor control processes are influenced by different motor abnormalities, especially NSS. Our results suggest that distinct aspects of NSS affect fine motor movements and GF. This knowledge is important for designing specific novel interventions aimed at improving specific motor control processes.

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来源期刊

Schizophrenia Research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

8.90%

发文量

429

审稿时长

10.2 weeks

期刊介绍： As official journal of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) Schizophrenia Research is THE journal of choice for international researchers and clinicians to share their work with the global schizophrenia research community. More than 6000 institutes have online or print (or both) access to this journal - the largest specialist journal in the field, with the largest readership! Schizophrenia Research''s time to first decision is as fast as 6 weeks and its publishing speed is as fast as 4 weeks until online publication (corrected proof/Article in Press) after acceptance and 14 weeks from acceptance until publication in a printed issue. The journal publishes novel papers that really contribute to understanding the biology and treatment of schizophrenic disorders; Schizophrenia Research brings together biological, clinical and psychological research in order to stimulate the synthesis of findings from all disciplines involved in improving patient outcomes in schizophrenia.