Suzumura S, Osawa A, Nagahama T, Kondo I, Sano Y, Kandori A. Assessment of finger motor skills in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and patients with Alzheimer's disease: Relationship between finger-to-thumb tapping and cognitive function. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2016; 7: 19-28. Objective: Decreased finger dexterity can impede a person's daily activities. The present study examined finger dexterity in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared with healthy older adults using a magnetic sensing finger tapping device (UB-1). Methods: Finger-to-thumb tapping tasks were carried out by 23 patients who were diagnosed with AD or MCI at the authors' hospital (AD/MCI group) and 22 members of their families (healthy control group), and measurement parameters were calculated. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was carried out to assess cognitive function and the association between finger function and the results of MMSE was evaluated. Additionally, the measurement parameters were compared between the AD/MCI group (n = 14) and the healthy control group (n = 13) after adjusting for age. Results: A correlation between finger function and MMSE results was observed in five measurement parameters (r ≥ 0.6). Additionally, in the AD/MCI group, the total traveling distance was shorter compared to that in the healthy control group and rhythm perturbations were observed (p < 0.05). Discussion: In the present study, the AD/MCI group showed decreased finger dexterity, which was also found to be associated with decline in cognitive function. It is suggested that assessment of finger dexterity can be used as an indicator of cognitive function.

Aim: A testing method for early diagnosis of Mild cognitive dementia (MCI) that can be easily applied in clinical practice was investigated in this study. We examined whether MCI risk can be determined through finger movements. Methods: Between 2013 and 2020, 1097 individuals were screened. After applying propensity-score matching to adjust for variability between the groups, 173 individuals each in the mild cognitive impairment and control groups were selected. Thereafter, differences between groups in mean values of parameters extracted from finger tap movements were determined using unpaired t-test and effect size. Furthermore, area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated from the receiver operating characteristic curve for parameters with significant difference. Results: A significant difference was observed, especially in the number of taps in the MCI group compared with that in the control group ( p < .001; 95% CI, −12.7 to −8.8; r = 0.51). A cut-off value of 30 taps was applied (sensitivity, 0.77; specificity, 0.67; AUC, 0.79). Significant differences were also observed in rhythm-related parameters. Conclusions: These parameters might be useful for capturing MCI risk. Finger taps are easily measured and may be suitable for screening large populations. This tool might be used as a supplemental method to increase the sensitivity of traditional cognitive tests.

Background: Aging is the most significant risk factor for dementia. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) accounts for approximately 60–80% of all dementia cases in older adults. This study aimed to examine the relationship between finger movements and brain volume in AD patients using a voxel-based reginal analysis system for Alzheimer’s disease (VSRAD) software.Methods: Patients diagnosed with AD at the Center for Comprehensive Care and Research on Memory Disorders were included. The diagnostic criteria were based on the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association. A finger-tapping device was used for all measurements. Participants performed the tasks in the following order: with their non-dominant hand, dominant hand, both hands simultaneously, and alternate hands. Movements were measured for 15 s each. The relationship between distance and output was measured. Magnetic resonance imaging measurements were performed, and VSRAD was conducted using sagittal section 3D T1-weighted images. The Z-score was used to calculate the severity of medial temporal lobe atrophy. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient analyzed the relationship between the severity of medial temporal lobe atrophy and mean values of the parameters in the finger-tapping movements. The statistical significance level was set at <5%. The calculated p-values were corrected using the Bonferroni method.Results: Sixty-two patients were included in the study. Comparison between VSRAD and MoCA-J scores corrected for p-values showed a significant negative correlation with the extent of gray matter atrophy (r = -0. 52; p< 0.001). A positive correlation was observed between the severity of medial temporal lobe atrophy and standard deviation (SD) of the distance rate of velocity peak in extending movements in the non-dominant hand (r = 0. 51; p< 0.001).Conclusions: The SD of distance rate of velocity peak in extending movements extracted from finger taps may be a useful parameter for the early detection of AD and diagnosis of its severity.

Sugioka J, Suzumura S, Kawahara Y, Osawa A, Maeda N, Ito M, Nagahama T, Kuno K, Shiramoto K, Kizuka S, Mizuguchi T, Sano Y, Kandori A, Kondo I. Assessment of finger movement characteristics in dementia patients using a magnetic sensing finger-tap device. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2020; 11: 91-97.Objective: Differences in finger movement characteristics during finger-tapping movements among Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients, and healthy elderly individuals were examined using a magnetic sensing finger-tap device (UB-2; Maxell, Tokyo), and relationships with cognitive function were investigated.Methods: Finger-tapping movements were measured and multiple comparisons using mean values of parameters from each group were conducted. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Spearman rank-correlation coefficients were used to analyze relationships between these parameters and MMSE scores.Results: Significant differences were observed in total traveling distance, standard deviation (SD) of contact duration, SD of inter-tapping interval, and SD of phase difference between left- and right-hand tapping. MMSE score showed a weak negative correlation with the SD of contact duration of the left hand (r = -0.28, p < 0.05). Weak positive correlations were observed in total traveling distance of the left hand (r = 0.3, p < 0.05) and right hand (r = 0.25, p < 0.05) and the inphase task for the right hand (r = 0.28, p < 0.05).Conclusion: These parameters may represent finger movements that are characteristic of AD and MCI.