Effects of activation procedures in acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia

In this study, we investigated experimentally the effects of different acti vation procedures on both motor and psychic symptoms in of 11 in-patients w ith acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia using the Hillside and Barnes akath isia rating scales and videotape rating technique. Motor activation was ach ieved by finger tapping. Cognitive activation tasks consisted of sequences of mental calculations which were designed either to be easy to perform or to produce stress due to a given time limit or to more difficult calculatio n operations, respectively. Motor as well as psychic symptoms of akathisia decreased during both motor and simple cognitive activation without stress. By contrast, stress-producing calculation tasks led to an increase in moto r and psychic symptoms immediately following the task performance. These po ssibly specific effects of activation procedures on symptoms might be usefu l in differentiating acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia from other neurole ptic-induced and extrapyramidal movement disorders.