Definition
Bradykinesia is a slowness of movement. It is often seen in parkinsonian individuals and is a cardinal feature of Parkinson’s disease. It can be seen in movements of small muscles when an individual is asked to rapidly open and close a hand, tap a finger, or move an arm back and forth to grab an object. It can involve any limb in isolation, such as decreased arm swing during gait evaluation or the entire body at once, evident in the abnormal stillness of a patient with Parkinson’s disease. It may fluctuate during the day depending on fatigue and medication levels in the case of Parkinson’s disease.
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Fahn, S., & Jankovic, J. (Eds.). (2007). Parkinsonism: Clinical features and diagnosis. In Movement disorders (pp. 79–100). Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.
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Hohler, A.D., de Leon, M.P. (2018). Bradykinesia. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_445
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_445
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