title: Delayed finger tapping and cognitive responses in preterm-born male teenagers with mild spastic diplegia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Information on fine motor and basic cognitive functions in spastic diplegia is sparse in the literature. The aim of this study was to investigate index finger's tapping speed and cognitive functions in categorization and old/new recognition of pictures in patients with mild spastic diplegia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen preterm-born male teenagers with mild spastic diplegia and 15 healthy male teenagers participated in this study. Finger-tapping tests and cognitive tests were performed on all participants. Outcomes were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the finger-tapping tests, the tapping speed was significantly slower in patients than in controls. In the tests of tapping one key persistently and tapping two keys alternately, the reaction time gaps between the left and right digits were larger in patients than in controls. In the categorization tests, the accuracies and reaction times for animal/plant and girl face pictures, but not for boy face pictures, were significantly worse in patients than in controls. In the recognition tests, the accuracies for old/new, animal/plant, and boy/girl face pictures were significantly lower in patients than in controls. The reaction times for old/new, animal/plant, and new face pictures, but not for old face pictures, were significantly longer in patients compared with controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate delayed finger tapping and cognitive responses in preterm-born male teenagers with mild spastic diplegia. Our experimental paradigm is sensitive for the study of fine motor and cognitive functions between patients and healthy controls.
authors.affiliation: Center for Higher Brain Functions, Department of Neurobiology, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Department of Orthopedics, Daxing Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Center for Higher Brain Functions, Department of Neurobiology, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ac@ccmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Andrew C N
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005385:Fingers / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: categorization; index finger tapping; mild spastic diplegia (MSD); old/new recognition