Neuro term. 1. Difficulty beginning or maintaining a body motion. 2. Symptoms include: a. slowed voluntary movements; b. difficulty in reaching for objects; c. inability to perform repetitive, simultaneous, or sequential body movements; d. immobile, expressionless, or masked face; e. loss of normal "restless" body movements while sitting; f. loss of arm swinging while walking; g. shuffling gait; and h. diminished finger dexterity.
Usage: Akinesia points to a variety of neurological problems (including, e.g., Parkinson's disease and brain damage associated with strokes). Akinesic behaviors affect an individual's normal nonverbal response, and may be (especially in older people) misconstrued as mood signs expressive of emotions and feelings.
See also APRAXIA.
Copyright 1998 - 2016 (David B. Givens/Center for Nonverbal Studies)