Sensory disorders in cerebral palsy: two-point discrimination.

Two-point discrimination (TPD) was measured on eight points of the upper extremities of 220 children with cerebral palsy aged between seven and 14 years. 46 had classical diplegia, 23 had mildly spastic diplegia (without adductor spasms), 86 had hemiplegia, 26 had generalized dyskinesia, 10 had right- and four had left-sided hemiathetosis and 25 had quadriplegia. TPD was decreased in all cases compared with normal controls: slightly more for the classical forms of diplegia and on the paretic side of those with hemiplegia, slightly less in athetoid children. This adds further evidence to the authors' previous observations that sensory disorder is an integral part of the clinical picture of cerebral palsy.

Disorders of memory of motor sequences in cerebral palsied children.

In 74 children (32 boys, 42 girls) between 7 and 14 years of age with different forms of cerebral palsy (mainly spastic ones) the motor memory was tested with a sequence of movements which had to be remembered at once, after 24 hours and after 5 days. The normal levels were determined by testing 21 healthy children matched as to age as control as (10 boys, 11 girls). Each exercise was evaluated separately as follows: the movement is performed correctly in the right sequence, 2 points; the movement is performed in a wrong sequence, but in the correct group of three exercises, 1 point; the sequence of movements is entirely wrong or the child does not perform the movements at all, 0 points. Thus for each testing a child can get a maximum of 12 points and for all three testings a maximal 36 points. In 48.5% of the CP children a disorder of memory was found, more frequently in left-sided hemiparesis than in right-sided, and more frequently in paucospastic diparesis (without adductor or flexor spasms and without flexor spastic signs in the toes) than in the classical form. Thus a motor memory disorder is part of the natural history of CP.