Loss of hand control expressiveness revealed by task- and individual-specificity in spatiotemporal finger coordination
Ihejirika, P.; Rai, D.; Rosenberg, M.; Xu, J.
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Stroke impairs dexterous hand use in daily activities, which may be due to compromised coordination complexity and diminished task-appropriate and individually-distinctive coordination (expressiveness). This loss of complexity and expressiveness, however, has not been elucidated, especially in spatiotemporal coordination. Here, we characterized spatiotemporal coordination in able-bodied and post-stroke hands during finger individuation. We quantified coordination complexity and expressiveness using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis of 3D isometric forces from all five fingers. Paretic fingers showed reduced complexity (number of PCs) and expressiveness (task-, individual-, and group-specificity), which was associated with greater intrusion of flexor bias in the paretic hand. Higher-variance PCs were characteristic of tasks and groups, while both higher- and lower-variance PCs were characteristic of individual-specific coordination. These findings advance understanding of how stroke affects finger coordination complexity and expressiveness, and may inform the development of targeted therapies to improve task-relevant and individually distinctive coordination post-stroke.
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