Shota Suzumura, OTR, MA, Aiko Osawa, MD, PhD, Taishi Nagahama, OTR,
Izumi Kondo, MD, PhD, Yuko Sano, MS, Akihiko Kandori, PhD
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 7: 19-28, 2016
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.
Key words: Alzheimer’s disease, finger function, dexterity, finger tapping