AUTHOR=Miyazaki Atsuko , Ito Yuichi , Okuyama Takashi , Mori Hayato , Sato Kazuhisa , Ichiki Masahiko , Hiyama Atsushi , Dinet Jerome , Nouchi Rui TITLE=Association between upper limb movements during drumming and cognition in older adults with cognitive impairment and dementia at a nursing home: a pilot study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences VOLUME=4 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/rehabilitation-sciences/articles/10.3389/fresc.2023.1079781 DOI=10.3389/fresc.2023.1079781 ISSN=2673-6861 ABSTRACT=Background

Despite the association between motor dysfunction and dementia, quantitative assessment of dementia-related specific motor dysfunction in patients with severe dementia is difficult. Thus, this study aimed to develop a new method to measure upper limb motor function in people with dementia.

Methods

We examined the relationship between dementia severity and dementia-related specific motor dysfunction using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a dementia screening test. Participants comprised 16 nursing home residents with a mean age of 86 years and MMSE score of 14.56 (range, 1–23) Points. Participants were seated in a circle and instructed to play a drum that was placed in their lap using mallets (drumsticks) in their dominant hand. Acceleration and gyroscopic sensors were attached to their wrists to collect data on arm movements while drumming. Upper limb motor characteristics were confirmed by recording acceleration and arm movement during drumming and analyzing the correlation with handgrip strength.

Results

Handgrip strength was correlated with arm elevation angle during drumming. The arm elevation angle displayed a significant regression equation with the MMSE score and showed the best regression equation along with handgrip strength (adjusted R2 = 0.6035, p = 0.0009).

Conclusion

We developed a new method using drums to measure upper limb motor function in people with dementia. We also verified that the average arm elevation angle during drumming could predict cognitive dysfunction. This system may be used to monitor people with dementia in a simple and safe way.