Sensorimotor dysfunction of grasping in schizophrenia: a side-effect of antipsychotic therapy?

Aims: Antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia is frequently associated with extrapyramidal side-effects. Objective behavioral measures to evaluate the severity of extrapyramidal side-effects in the clinical setting do not exist. Objectives: The present study was designed to investigate grasping movements in 5 drug-nave and 13 medicated subjects with schizophrenia and to compare their performance with that of 18 healthy control subjects. Deficits of grip force performance were correlated with clinical scores of both Parkinson-like motor disability and psychiatric symptom severity Methods: Participants performed…