Synergy as a new and sensitive marker of basal ganglia dysfunction: A study of asymptomatic welders

• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2016.06.016
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02T14:37:26Z
• Authors: Mechelle M. Lewis; Eun-Young Lee; Hang Jin Jo; Guangwei Du; Jaebum Park; Michael R. Flynn; Lan Kong; Mark L. Latash; Xuemei Huang
• Keywords: Basal ganglia disease; Subclinical infection

Multi-digit synergies, a recently developed, theory-based method to quantify stability of motor action, are shown to reflect basal ganglia dysfunction associated with parkinsonian syndromes. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that multi-digit synergies may capture early and subclinical basal ganglia dysfunction. We chose asymptomatic welders to test the hypothesis because the basal ganglia are known to be most susceptible to neurotoxicity caused by welding-related metal accumulation (such as manganese and iron).