title: Differentiation of hand posture to object shape in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy.
abstract: Quantifying hand-shaping in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) is the first step in understanding hand posture differentiation. To quantify this ability and determine how hand posture evolves during reach toward various object shapes in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP), 2 groups of children (10 typically developing, and 10 USCP, ages 6-13) were studied in a single-session cross-sectional study. Subjects grasped rectangular, concave, and convex objects with each hand. Metacarpal and proximal interphalangeal joint finger flexion and finger abduction angles were calculated. The extent to which hand posture reflects object shape was calculated using a "visuomotor efficiency (VME) index" (a score of 100 reflects perfect discrimination between objects). A mixed design ANOVA with repeated measures on time was used to compare the VME between groups. Children with USCP demonstrated a lower VME than controls in the affected hand, indicating less effective hand-shaping; p<.01. There was also a difference between groups in the evolution of VME throughout reach; p<.01. No difference in hand-shaping in the less affected hand in USCP was observed. Analysis of joint angles at contact and VME throughout reach demonstrated that children with USCP differentiated their hand posture to objects of different shapes, but demonstrated deficits in the timing and magnitude of hand-shaping isolated to the affected side. The present study suggests it may be important to consider the quality of hand activity using quantitative approaches such as VME analyses. Rehabilitation approaches that target these deficits to improve joint mobility and motor control are worth testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Science, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY, 10027, USA; Leon Root Motion Analysis Laboratory, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E 70th St., New York, NY, 10021, USA. Electronic address: wolffa@hss.edu.
authors.forename: Aviva L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, 240 East 38th Street, 17th floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Raghavan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Science, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaminski
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Science, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY, 10027, USA; Leon Root Motion Analysis Laboratory, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E 70th St., New York, NY, 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Howard J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hillstrom
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Science, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cerebral palsy; Fingers; Hand-shaping; Hemiplegia; Kinematics; Motor planning