Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32193164›Full record

ArticleClinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology2020

Task-specific interhemispheric hypoconnectivity in writer's cramp - An EEG study.

Nivethida Thirugnanasambandam, Tyler Zimmerman, Ajay S Pillai, Jessica Shields, Silvina G Horovitz, Mark Hallett

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 41% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Brain network pathophysiology in dystonia.Dystonia (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Nivethida ThirugnanasambandamHuman Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Tyler ZimmermanHuman Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., USA.
Ajay S PillaiHuman Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Jessica ShieldsHuman Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; Louisiana State University School of Medicine at New Orleans, USA.
Silvina G HorovitzHuman Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Mark HallettHuman Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: hallettm@ninds.nih.gov.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · USLouisiana State University · USUniversity of America · US

Funding

Pathophysiology of Basal Ganglia DisordersZIANS003031 · NINDS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE · PI HALLETT, MARK · 2009 to 2023
$22.7M
Pathophysiology of Basal Ganglia DisordersZ01NS003031 · NINDS · NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE · PI HALLETT, MARK · 2007 to 2008
$4.4M
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 NS003031
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWriter's cramp (WC) is a focal task-specific dystonia characterized by abnormal posturing of the hand muscles during handwriting, but not during other tasks that involve the same set of muscles and objects such as sharpening a pencil. Our objective was to investigate the pathophysiology underlying the task specificity of this disorder using EEG. We hypothesized that premotor-parietal connectivity will be lower in WC patients specifically during handwriting and motor imagery of handwriting.

methodsWe recruited 15 WC patients and 15 healthy controls. EEG was recorded while participants performed 4 tasks - writing with a pencil, sharpening a pencil, imagining writing and imagining sharpening. We determined the connectivity changes between relevant brain regions during these tasks.

resultsWe found reduced interhemispheric alpha coherence in the sensorimotor areas in WC patients exclusively during handwriting. WC patients also showed less reduction of task-related beta spectral power and a trend for reduced premotor-parietal coherence during motor tasks.

conclusionWe could not confirm an abnormality in premotor-parietal connectivity specific to handwriting by this method. However, there was a task-specific reduction in interhemispheric alpha connectivity in WC patients, whose behavioral correlate remains unknown. SIGNIFICANCE: Interhemispheric alpha connectivity can be a potential interventional target in WC.

Indexed as

AgedAlpha RhythmDystonic DisordersElectroencephalographyFemaleFunctional LateralityHandwritingHumansMaleMiddle AgedMotor CortexNeural PathwaysParietal LobeEEGFocal task specific dystoniaFunctional connectivityInterhemispheric coherenceWriter’s cramp

Identifiers

PMID32193164
PMCPMC8214401
OpenAlexW3004896936

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.