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. 1982 Nov;332:113–123. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1982.sp014404

Different types of tremor in the human thumb.

T I Brown, P M Rack, H F Ross
PMCID: PMC1197390  PMID: 7153923

Abstract

1. The upper limbs of normal subjects were immobilized in a way that allowed measurement of forces and movements at the thumb interphalangeal joint without significant movement elsewhere in the limb. 2. When the subject attempted to maintain a steady flexing force at the joint against a rigid stop, the actual force showed the irregular 8-11 Hz fluctuations characteristic of a 'physiological tremor'. This force fluctuation increased when the mean flexing force increased. 3. If the subject exerted his flexing force against a light complaint spring, there was an analogous irregular 8-11 Hz movement at the joint. 4. When, however, an extra inertial load was added to the terminal phalanx, flexion against a complaint spring was often accompanied by a different type of tremor. This was a more regular oscillation, of lower frequency (3-6 Hz), and of much larger amplitude. 5. The precise frequency and amplitude of this type of tremor depended on the characteristics of the added inertia and spring, in a way that could have been predicted from the responses of the joint to an imposed sinusoidal movement (Brown, Rack & Ross, 1982a). The movement appeared to arise from re-excitation within stretch reflex pathways. 6. The irregular 8-11 Hz tremor at this joint could not be attributed to reflex re-excitation, since the responses to sinusoidal movement indicated a stretch reflex whose timing would not support a movement at that frequency. It is, however, emphasized that other joints of the hand and fingers may behave in different ways.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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