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Motor timing variability increases in preclinical Huntington's disease patients as estimated onset of motor symptoms approaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2007

SEAN C. HINTON ,
JANE S. PAULSEN ,
RAYMOND G. HOFFMANN ,
NORMAN C. REYNOLDS ,
JANICE L. ZIMBELMAN  and
STEPHEN M. RAO
SEAN C. HINTON
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
JANE S. PAULSEN
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
RAYMOND G. HOFFMANN
Affiliation:
Division of Biostatistics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
NORMAN C. REYNOLDS
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
JANICE L. ZIMBELMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
STEPHEN M. RAO
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Abstract

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder diagnosed clinically with the development of choreiform movements. However, neuropsychological studies have demonstrated cognitive and psychiatric changes during the preclinical phase (pre-HD) prior to formal diagnosis. Previous studies have demonstrated the sensitivity of time reproduction tasks to basal ganglia pathology, as seen in clinical HD and Parkinson's disease. In this study, 29 pre-HD participants, ranging from 3 to 39 years from estimated onset (YEO) of HD based on genetic testing and chronological age, were administered the paced finger-tapping task using target intervals of 600 and 1200 ms. Mean inter-response interval, a measure of timing accuracy, did not systematically deviate from the target interval as a function of YEO. In contrast, timing variability increased curvilinearly as a function of YEO, but not with chronological age alone. Motor timing variability, but not accuracy, may serve as a marker to define the earliest behavioral changes in HD. The present study is among the first to examine the relationship between behavioral measures and YEO in pre-HD. (JINS, 2007, 13, 539–543.)

Keywords

PsychologyNeurodegenerative diseasesMovement disordersCognition disordersBasal ganglia diseasesPsychomotor performanceSensory motor performanceTask performance and analysisAuditory perceptionTime perception
Type
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , May 2007 , pp. 539 - 543
Copyright
© 2007 The International Neuropsychological Society

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