Dystonic tremor and task-specific tremor in musicians

Background

Focal Dystonia is one of the most severe impairments for musicians. However, the phenomenon of dystonic tremor has not been quantified yet. Therefore, we aim to describe the properties of dystonic tremor in musicians.

A further tremor entity is the task-specific tremor in musicians, occurring at the same time with or independently of dystonia. Particularly frequently, the bow-arm in string-players is affected. Again, our goal is to characterize the task-specific bowing tremor.

Examining musicians with focal dystonia, in some patients a tremor can be observed during a slow flexion-extension finger movement both in the affected and the non-affected finger. This tremor seems to occur subject to the position of the finger, with an increased amplitude in extended and flexed posture. Being already described for dystonic tremor in general, we want to examine the sensory trick-phenomenon with regard to dystonic tremor in musicians.

 

 

Goals

  • describing the properties of dystonic tremor (frequency, amplitude, position dependence)
  • describing the properties of task-specific bowing tremor

Experiments

  • accelerometry
  • EMG
  • questionnaires

 

 

Publications

  • Lee A, Voget J, Furuya S, Morise M, Altenmüller E. Quantification of sound instability in embouchure tremor based on the time-varying fundamental frequency. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 123: 515–521, 2016.
  • Lee A, Tominaga K, Furuya S, Miyazaki F, Altenmüller E. Electrophysiological characteristics of task-specific tremor in 22 instrumentalists. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 122: 393–401, 2015c.
  • Lee A, Altenmüller E. Detecting position dependent tremor with the Empirical mode decomposition. J Clin Mov Disord 2: 3, 2015a.
  • Lee A, Schoonderwaldt E, Chadde M, Altenmüller E. Analysis of dystonic tremor in musicians using empirical mode decomposition. Clin Neurophysiol 126: 147–153, 2015b.
  • Lee A, Tominaga K, Furuya S, Miyazaki F, Altenmüller E. Quantification of a secondary task-specific tremor in a violinist after a temporal lobectomy. Front Hum Neurosci 8: 559, 2014d.
  • Lee A, Tominaga K, Furuya S, Miyazaki F, Altenmüller E. Coherence of coactivation and acceleration in task-specific primary bowing tremor. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 121: 739–742, 2014e.
  • Lee A, Schoonderwaldt E, Chadde M, Altenmüller E. Movement induced tremor in musicians and non-musicians reflects adaptive brain plasticity. Front Psychol 5: 824, 2014c.
  • Lee A, Furuya S, Morise M, Iltis P, Altenmüller E. Quantification of instability of tone production in embouchure dystonia. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 20: 1161–1164, 2014b.
  • Lee A, Chadde M, Altenmüller E, Schoonderwaldt E. Characteristics of Task-specific Tremor in String Instrument Players. Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y) 4: 198, 2014a.
  • Lee A, Tominaga K, Furuya K, Miyazaki F, Altenmüller E. Task-specific tremor in violinists: Evidence of coactivation in the 3 to 8 Hz frequency range. Mov. Disord. Off. J. Mov. Disord. Soc. (July 12, 2013). doi: 10.1002/mds.25569.
  • Lee A, Altenmüller E. Primary Task-specific Tremor: An Entity of its Own? Med. Probl. Perform. Art. 27: 224–226, 2012.
 

Contact persons

  • Prof. Dr. André Lee

    Professor of music physiology and musicians' medicine, Director of the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine

    Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine
    Neues Haus 1, 30175 Hannover
    23 | Schiffgraben 48

    Phone: +49 (0)511 3100-551
    andre.lee@hmtm-hannover.de

Last modified: 2024-08-12

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