BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study examined cognitive-motor integration in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Previously, we showed that the performance of early-stage Alzheimer's disease patients declined significantly as a visually-guided movement went from having a standard mapping (vision and action spatially aligned) to having a non-standard mapping (vision and action incongruent). The present study extends this line of research by examining the performance of individuals affected by MCI. METHODS: The participants made finger movements over a clear touchscreen placed in two separate spatial planes to either constantly present or remembered visual targets. These spatial plane conditions were repeated with the direction of cursor motion rotated 180° from that of hand motion. We also tested an 'arbitrary' condition where symbols instructed the participants to move their hand in certain directions. RESULTS: We observe that adults with MCI took significantly longer to plan movements requiring intermediate levels of non-standard mapping, relative to healthy older adults. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that movements requiring rule integration is affected even in individuals at a very early stage of cognitive decline. Cognitive-motor integration may provide a sensitive means to detect functional difficulty in early cognitive impairment.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study examined cognitive-motor integration in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Previously, we showed that the performance of early-stage Alzheimer's diseasepatients declined significantly as a visually-guided movement went from having a standard mapping (vision and action spatially aligned) to having a non-standard mapping (vision and action incongruent). The present study extends this line of research by examining the performance of individuals affected by MCI. METHODS: The participants made finger movements over a clear touchscreen placed in two separate spatial planes to either constantly present or remembered visual targets. These spatial plane conditions were repeated with the direction of cursor motion rotated 180° from that of hand motion. We also tested an 'arbitrary' condition where symbols instructed the participants to move their hand in certain directions. RESULTS: We observe that adults with MCI took significantly longer to plan movements requiring intermediate levels of non-standard mapping, relative to healthy older adults. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that movements requiring rule integration is affected even in individuals at a very early stage of cognitive decline. Cognitive-motor integration may provide a sensitive means to detect functional difficulty in early cognitive impairment.
Authors: Alexandra G Mitchell; Stephanie Rossit; Suvankar Pal; Michael Hornberger; Annie Warman; Elise Kenning; Laura Williamson; Rebecca Shapland; Robert D McIntosh Journal: Cortex Date: 2022-01-31 Impact factor: 4.027
Authors: Justine Staal; Francesco Mattace-Raso; Hennie A M Daniels; Johannes van der Steen; Johan J M Pel Journal: Front Neurosci Date: 2021-06-28 Impact factor: 4.677
Authors: Teige C Bourke; Catherine R Lowrey; Sean P Dukelow; Stephen D Bagg; Kathleen E Norman; Stephen H Scott Journal: J Neuroeng Rehabil Date: 2016-10-10 Impact factor: 4.262