Unraveling of an original mechanism of hypometria in human using a new myohaptic device — The Wristalyzer

We report a novel form of hypometria in a patient presenting a spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2; 32 repeats; Age: 44). We investigated fast pointing (FP) and fast reversal (FR) single-joint movements performed under artificial damping conditions using our myohaptic device called Wristalyzer, which allows an instantaneous regulation of the mechanical characteristics of a wrist manipulandum. The wristalyzer controller has a range of motion from −1 rad to +1 rad. The inertia of the motor/handgrip is 0.004 kg × m2. Movements were studied in free mode and with damping either at 0.1 Nms/rad or 0.2 Nms/rad. Subjects performed sets of FP movements and FR movements over 3 distances (targets: 0.2,…