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01-03-2015 | Neurology and Preclinical Neurological Studies - Original Article

Electrophysiological characteristics of task-specific tremor in 22 instrumentalists

Authors: André Lee, Kenta Tominaga, Shinichi Furuya, Fumio Miyazaki, Eckart Altenmüller

Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission | Issue 3/2015

Abstract

Our aim was to address three characteristics of task-specific tremor in musicians (TSTM): First, we quantified muscular activity of flexor and extensor muscles, of coactivation as well as tremor acceleration. Second, we compared muscular activity between task-dependent and position-dependent tremor. Third, we investigated, whether there is an overflow of muscular activity to muscles adjacent to the affected muscles in TSTM. Tremor acceleration and muscular activity were measured in the affected muscles and the muscles adjacent to the affected muscles in 22 patients aged 51.5 ± 11.4 years with a task-specific tremor. We assessed power of muscular oscillatory activity and calculated the coherence between EMG activity of affected muscles and tremor acceleration as well as between adjacent muscles and tremor acceleration. This was done for task-dependent and position-dependent tremor. We found the highest power and coherence of muscular oscillatory activity in the frequency range of 3–8 Hz for affected and adjacent muscles. No difference was found between task-dependent and position-dependent tremor in neither power nor coherence measures. Our results generalize previous results of a relation between coactivation and tremor among a variety of musicians. Furthermore, we found coherence of adjacent muscles and TSTM. This indicates that overflow exists in TSTM and suggests an association of TST with dystonia.

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Title: Electrophysiological characteristics of task-specific tremor in 22 instrumentalists
Authors: André Lee
Kenta Tominaga
Shinichi Furuya
Fumio Miyazaki
Eckart Altenmüller
Publication date: 01-03-2015
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission / Issue 3/2015
Print ISSN: 0300-9564
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1463
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-014-1275-2

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Electrophysiological characteristics of task-specific tremor in 22 instrumentalists

Abstract

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