Interventions to foster connections and interactions.

Background: The Special Issue articles describe six systems of parental interventions and developmental care several differences among each of the approaches. Nevertheless, on a deeper level there are profound similarities shared across the six systems. These similarities are at the heart of developmental care in general and parental interventions in particular.

Grip force release is impaired in parkinson's disease during a force tracking task.

The controlled release of grasping forces underlies skilled dexterous interactions with objects. While declines in force generation and maintenance are well documented in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD), limited data exist related to how PD impacts the motor control of grasping force release. The aim of this project was to determine how PD impacts grip force release relative to the generation and maintenance of force.

A digital version of the nine-hole peg test: Speed may be a more reliable measure of upper-limb disability than completion time in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: A digital adaptation of the nine-hole peg test (9HPT) was developed with the potential to provide novel disability features for patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS).

Objectives: The objectives were to evaluate the 9HPT features based on reliability, prognosis, and discrimination between treatment groups.

Methods: The MS partners Advancing Technology and Health Solutions (MS PATHS) cohort data were used to derive new features including completion time and speed.

Characterizing Hand Function in Parkinson's Disease Patients with a Self-Administered Electronic Manual Dexterity Test.

Background: Dexterous dysfunction is a bothersome patient-reported symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Current clinical assessments do not directly evaluate goal-directed hand function. This project sought to determine the capability of the electronic Manual Dexterity Test (MDT) to characterize dexterity across a range of PD patients.