Psychomotor disorders: types, characteristics and symptoms

Movement is part of human behavior, and accompanies the actions we perform when we express desires, needs, etc., as well as when we communicate or interact with others. When it is altered in any way, the so-called psychomotor disorders appear.

In this article we will know the main psychomotor disorders, as well as its most characteristic symptoms. In addition, we will talk about what psychomotor skills mean.

• Related article: "The intervention in Psychomotricity: what is this discipline?"

Psychomotor skills

Psychomotricity implies the performance of the person in interaction with cognitive and affective experiences, and includes two elements: muscle tone and kinetic harmony.

Muscle tone evolves throughout life, although it is in the first months of life when it is most important and when changes occur more quickly. For its part, kinetic harmony is what allows us to chain gestural or motor movements and to locate them in time and space.

What are psychomotor disorders?

Psychomotor disorders involve the alteration or psychopathology of psychomotor skills

. In other words, they involve abnormalities, deficits, or disturbances in movement.

These alterations translate into neurodevelopmental difficulties, which affect the person's perceptual-motor adaptation.

• You may be interested: "The 7 types of neurodevelopmental disorders (symptoms and causes)"

Types

The main psychomotor disorders (and their symptoms) are the following:

1. Psychomotor agitation

It is the most common psychomotor disorder. It is a type of motor hyperactivity, in which the person emits gestures, movements and behaviors quickly and successively and without a specific objective.

2. Stupor

Stupor involves psychomotor inhibition or retardation, and is characterized by a state of consciousness where an absence (akinesia) or reduction (hypokinesia) of movement predominates and the reactions.

The person remains indifferent, alien or distant from the environment that surrounds him. In addition, there is an absence of relational functions and an absolute paralysis of the body. Muteness is also usually associated (the person does not speak).

3. Tremors

The tremors are oscillatory muscle movements, around a fixed point of the body, in the form of involuntary jerks, rhythmic and fast. The shakes that. they occur are caused by alternating contractions of muscle groups.

They appear mainly on the head, face, tongue and extremities (especially the upper ones). These psychomotor disorders are more infrequent in the trunk. They can be of three types: resting, postural and intentional.

4. Seizures

These are muscle movements in the form of violent and uncontrollable contractions of the voluntary muscles. They manifest in one or more muscle groups or in a generalized way throughout the body.

They may appear associated with some diseases related to toxic-infectious conditions with brain involvement. Also, and especially, in epilepsy.

• You may be interested: "Epilepsy: definition, causes, diagnosis and treatment"

5. Tics

Tics are fast, jerky, local muscle movements that manifest involuntary, isolated, unexpected, repetitive, frequentwithout purpose and at irregular intervals. They occur in one or more parts of the body; they rarely affect the muscles below the shoulders.

The most common tics are: winks, neck stretches, head movements to the side, frowning of the eyebrows, twisting of the corners of the mouth and blinking.

They affect more men than women, and frequently appear for the first time in childhood (around 7 years). A well-known psychomotor disorder with tics is Gilles de Tourette Disorder.

6. Spasms

These are involuntary, exaggerated and persistent muscle contractions that are located in the voluntary muscles and in the muscle fibers of the internal organs. A specific and frequent type of spasm is the torticular spasm, consisting of a rotating movement of the head to one side.

We can differentiate various types of spasms: professional, Bamberger's jumps and Salaam's jumps.

7. Catatonia

It is a syndrome that includes a series of symptoms: catalepsy, negativism, stupor, mutism, muscular rigidity, stereotypies and ecosymptoms.

The person with catatonia shows an immobile attitude and maintains rigid muscles; Thus, it is possible to place the individual in a forced, uncomfortable or antigravity position and for him to remain in the same posture without trying to regain the original position for an indefinite time (it is the so-called flexibility waxy).

8. Stereotypes

Continuing with psychomotor disorders, the eighth are stereotypies, that is, the continuous and unnecessary repetition of movements or gestures that, unlike tics, they are organized and generally complex.

They typically appear in facial or general body mimicry. They are typical of disorders such as autism or schizophrenia. But we must differentiate between two types: the simple ones (they appear in organic brain disorders) and the complex ones (they are observed in non-organic psychotic disorders).

9. Mannerisms

Mannerisms are movements called "parasites", that is, what they do is increase the expressiveness of gestures and mimicry. They appear mainly in psychopathological conditions similar to those generated by stereotypes (especially in psychotic disorders).

Examples of mannerisms are meaningless or unmotivated smiles, as well as forced postures.

10. Dyskinesias

They are involuntary movements of the tongue, mouth, and face. There are two types: acute and late. The late ones are originated as side effects of some antipsychotics.

11. Apraxia

The last of the psychomotor disorders, apraxias, involve difficulty in carrying out purposeful activities that require an orderly sequence and coordination of a series of movements (such as dressing, sending a letter, etc.)

Translates into a difficulty performing activities that require a certain level of psychomotor complexity. Apraxia in children is called "developmental dyspraxia."

Bibliographic references:

• Albaret, J.M. (2002). Psychomotor disorders in the child. Encyclopédie Medico-Chirurgicale - E - 37-201-F-10.
• American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.
• Belloch, A.; Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume I and II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.