Motor Abnormalities and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology: Incorporating a Psychomotor Perspective Into a Hierarchical Dimensional Symptom Framework

Abstract

Motor symptoms have emerged as a promising target for understanding mechanisms, prognosis, and treatment in psychology. Although motor abnormalities are observed across mental-health conditions, transdiagnostic research has been limited. It is not well understood whether motor symptoms are a broad endophenotypic marker or a predictor of specific symptoms. We leverage a hierarchical dimensional symptom structure to examine transdiagnostic relationships between psychological and self-reported motor symptoms in 3,460 participants in the Multi-Site Assessment of Psychosis-Risk study. Overall motor problems (βs = 0.07–0.25), dyskinesia (βs = 0.07–0.31), and coordination (βs = 0.05–0.23) were related positively at different strengths to all symptom domains. Amount of physical activity was positively related to mania and substance use (βs = 0.08–0.09) and negatively related to detachment, fear, and distress (βs = 0.05–0.27). These results suggest that motor domains may provide utility as both a general endophenotypic marker and more specific predictor of serious mental illness; we discuss implications for research and clinical settings.