To identify the focus of impairment in the performance of sequential m
ovements in Huntington's disease (HD) patients, the extent of their re
liance on external advance information was examined. Twelve patients w
ith HD and their age-matched controls performed a series of button-pre
sses at sequential choice points along a response board. A sequential
pathway was designated, and with each successive button press, advance
visual information was systematically reduced to various extents in a
dvance of each move. HD patients, like previously studied parkinsonian
patients, were particularly disadvantaged with high levels of reducti
on in advance information, and as a consequence, both their initiation
and execution of movements progressively slowed with each successive
element in the response sequence. The pattern of results was not affec
ted whether or not patients were taking neuroleptic medication, nor di
d performance on a variety of cognitive measures correlate with motor
performance. Control subjects' performance, on the other hand, remaine
d constant in terms of both initiation and execution with each of the
three levels of reduction in advance information. We conclude that HD
patients, like parkinsonian patients, who also suffer from a basal gan
glia (BG) disorder, require external visual cues to sequence motor pro
grams effectively. Our findings suggest that with HD there may be abno
rmalities in a central mechanism that controls switching between movem
ent segments within an overall motor plan. The BG, which provide inter
nal cues necessary for component sequencing, may be disrupted, thereby
impairing the ability to use such internally generated cues to guide
movement.