Within the framework of the SENDA study, which deals with the detection of cognitive impairment and dementia in people over 80 years of age, it was investigated whether the cognitive status of the participants can be determined on the basis of a simple motor task (finger tapping). The results show that the groups of participants differ significantly in selected movement parameters. A classification of the subjects on the basis of these parameters using linear discriminant analysis is only successful in 50% of the subjects. The authors suppose that, in addition to the cognitive status of the subjects, different degrees of degeneration of motor areas, especially of the cerebellum, have an influence on the classification. Overall, when investigating whether cognitive state can be assessed based on simple finger movements, one must also consider the possible degeneration of relevant motor systems (e.g., the cerebellum). To establish tapping as a good classifier, researchers need to conduct additional motor tests to specifically determine the degeneration of the aforementioned areas.
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