Computerized Finger Tapping Task in Adult Unipolar Depressed Patients and Healthy Subjects: Influence of Age, Gender, Education, and Hand Dominance

Introduction: Current diagnostic criteria for depression include psychomotor retardation, being the Finger Tapping Test (FTT) as one of the most utilized instruments to assess fine psychomotor performance.

Method: This study aimed to compare the performance of a sample of 51 unipolar depressed patients (30 women and 21 men, with a mean age of 45.12 years old [SD = 14.09]) with 51 healthy controls (29 women and 22 men, with a mean age of 44.49 years old [SD = 15.59]) in a computerized version of the Finger Tapping Test (FTT) from the Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL). Another objective was to test this version’s validity in comparison to other FTTs.

Results: We found significant differences between depressed patients and healthy controls. Significant effects of age and gender were found.

Conclusion: Results allowed us to identify differences in performance between the two groups, therefore this version of the FTT revealed adequate reliability values, one instrument accessible to all clinicians.