Manual aiming in healthy aging: does proprioceptive acuity make the difference?

The present study examines whether non-active older adults are more dependent on visual information when executing aiming movements and whether age-related declines in proprioception play a mediating role herein. Young ( N  = 40) and older adults ( N  = 38) were divided into physically active and no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AGE 2016-04, Vol.38 (2), p.45-45, Article 45
Main Authors: Helsen, Werner F., Van Halewyck, Florian, Levin, Oron, Boisgontier, Matthieu P., Lavrysen, Ann, Elliott, Digby
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Adult
Age
Aged
Aging
Aging - physiology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cell Biology
Exercise
Experiments
Feedback
Feedback, Sensory
Female
Geriatrics/Gerontology
Humans
Kinesiology
Life Sciences
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Medicine
Motor Activity - physiology
Older people
Proprioception
Proprioception - physiology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Reaction Time
Young Adult
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Summary:The present study examines whether non-active older adults are more dependent on visual information when executing aiming movements and whether age-related declines in proprioception play a mediating role herein. Young ( N  = 40) and older adults ( N  = 38) were divided into physically active and non-active subgroups based on self-reported sports participation levels. In experiment 1, participants executed wrist-aiming movements with and without visual feedback. In experiment 2, passive proprioceptive acuity was assessed using wrist motion detection and position matching tests. Results showed similar aiming accuracy across age groups both with and without visual feedback, but older adults exhibited longer movement times, prolonged homing-in phase, and made more corrective submovements. Passive proprioceptive acuity was significantly affected by physical activity level and age, with participants in the active group scoring better than their non-active peers. However, these declines did not predict performance changes on the aiming task. Taken together, our observations suggest that decline in proprioceptive acuity did not predict performance changes on the aiming task and older adults were able to compensate for their decreased motion and position sense when allowed sufficient time. In line with these observations, we proposed that older adults are able to compensate for their decline in proprioception by increasing their reliance on predictive models.
ISSN:0161-9152
2509-2715
1574-4647
2509-2723
DOI:10.1007/s11357-016-9908-z