FINGER-MOVEMENT TRACKING SCORES IN HEALTHY-SUBJECTS

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of age, sex, and hand preference on precise control of voluntary movement at the index finger metacarpophalangeal joint in able-bodied volunteers. An electro goniometer was attached to this joint and connected to a computer. The computer screen displayed a sine wave target that each subject attemp ted to track with careful extension and flexion finger movements. Accu racy index scores were calculated for the extension phases, flexion ph ases, and the total sine wave. Each subject performed three tracking t rials and the average for each of the above scores was computed. The r esults showed that younger subjects tracked significantly more accurat ely than older subjects and men tracked significantly more accurately than women. Also, the subjects tracking with the nonpreferred hand (15 right, 105 left) tracked significantly more accurately than those sub jects tracking with the preferred hand (112 right, 8 left) in the flex ion phases of the test. The data from these able-bodied subjects provi de a base for comparison of patients' data, which may be helpful in th e early recognition and monitoring of problems with precision in movem ent control.