Motor impersistence: a right-hemisphere syndrome.
We studied motor impersistence with a standardized clinical test of sustained actions, both in patients with acute focal stroke lesions, who were matched for age and size of lesion, and normal controls. Patients with right-sided lesions had significantly more impersistence than did those with left-sided lesions. The most discriminating tests were eye-closure, mouth-opening, tongue-protrusion, and gaze to the left. Right central and frontal lesions seemed to be more responsible for motor impersistence than were posterior or left-sided lesions. Although motor impersistence is sometimes seen with diffuse cerebral disease, it is also a sign of right-hemisphere lesions; the phenomenon is probably related to mechanisms of directed attention that are necessary to sustain motor activity.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*