A Primate Model for Studying Focal Dystonia and Repetitive Strain Injury: Effects on the Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Abstract

Attended, highly articulated, repetitive finger squeezing degrades the hand representation and interferes with motor control. A proximal, more variable repetitive strategy minimized the sensory degradation and preserved motor control. Restoring the hand representation may be a critical part of treatment for patients with chronic RSI and focal hand dystonia.