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Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults

INTRODUCTION: Older adults show higher interindividual performance variability during the learning of new motor sequences than younger adults. It is largely unknown what factors contribute to this variability. This study aimed to, first, characterize age differences in motor sequence learning and, s...

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Autores principales: Zwingmann, K., Hübner, L., Verwey, W. B., Barnhoorn, J. S., Godde, B., Voelcker-Rehage, C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8286216/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32617650
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01351-y
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author Zwingmann, K.
Hübner, L.
Verwey, W. B.
Barnhoorn, J. S.
Godde, B.
Voelcker-Rehage, C.
author_facet Zwingmann, K.
Hübner, L.
Verwey, W. B.
Barnhoorn, J. S.
Godde, B.
Voelcker-Rehage, C.
author_sort Zwingmann, K.
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Older adults show higher interindividual performance variability during the learning of new motor sequences than younger adults. It is largely unknown what factors contribute to this variability. This study aimed to, first, characterize age differences in motor sequence learning and, second, examine influencing factors for interindividual performance differences. METHOD: 30 young adults (age M = 21.89, SD = 2.08, 20 female) and 29 older adults (age M = 69.55, SD = 3.03, 18 female) participated in the study. Motor sequence learning was assessed with a discrete sequence production (DSP) task, requiring key presses to a sequence of visual stimuli. Three DSP practice phases (á 8 blocks × 16 sequences, two six-element sequences) and two transfer blocks (new untrained sequences) were performed. Older participants conducted the Mini-Mental Status Examination and a visuospatial working-memory task. All participants finished a questionnaire on everyday leisure activities and a cardiovascular fitness test. RESULTS: Performance speed increased with practice in both groups, but young improved more than older adults (significant Group × Time effect for response time, F(1,5) = 4.353, p = 0.004, [Formula: see text]  = 0.071). Accuracy did not change in any age group (non-significant Group × Time effect for error rates, F(1,5) = 2.130, p = 0.091, [Formula: see text]  = 0.036). Older adults revealed lower transfer costs for performance speed (significant Time × Group effect, e.g., simple sequence, F(1,2) = 10.511, p = 0.002, [Formula: see text]  = 0.156). High participation in leisure time activities (β = − 0.58, p = 0.010, R(2) = 0.45) and high cardiovascular fitness (β = − 0.49, p = 0.011, R(2) = 0.45) predicted successful motor sequence learning in older adults. DISCUSSION: Results confirmed impaired motor learning in older adults. Younger adults seem to show a better implicit knowledge of the practiced sequences compared to older adults. Regular participation in leisure time activities and cardiovascular fitness seem to prevent age-related decline and to facilitate motor sequence performance and motor sequence learning in older adults.
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spelling pubmed-82862162021-07-20 Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults Zwingmann, K. Hübner, L. Verwey, W. B. Barnhoorn, J. S. Godde, B. Voelcker-Rehage, C. Psychol Res Original Article INTRODUCTION: Older adults show higher interindividual performance variability during the learning of new motor sequences than younger adults. It is largely unknown what factors contribute to this variability. This study aimed to, first, characterize age differences in motor sequence learning and, second, examine influencing factors for interindividual performance differences. METHOD: 30 young adults (age M = 21.89, SD = 2.08, 20 female) and 29 older adults (age M = 69.55, SD = 3.03, 18 female) participated in the study. Motor sequence learning was assessed with a discrete sequence production (DSP) task, requiring key presses to a sequence of visual stimuli. Three DSP practice phases (á 8 blocks × 16 sequences, two six-element sequences) and two transfer blocks (new untrained sequences) were performed. Older participants conducted the Mini-Mental Status Examination and a visuospatial working-memory task. All participants finished a questionnaire on everyday leisure activities and a cardiovascular fitness test. RESULTS: Performance speed increased with practice in both groups, but young improved more than older adults (significant Group × Time effect for response time, F(1,5) = 4.353, p = 0.004, [Formula: see text]  = 0.071). Accuracy did not change in any age group (non-significant Group × Time effect for error rates, F(1,5) = 2.130, p = 0.091, [Formula: see text]  = 0.036). Older adults revealed lower transfer costs for performance speed (significant Time × Group effect, e.g., simple sequence, F(1,2) = 10.511, p = 0.002, [Formula: see text]  = 0.156). High participation in leisure time activities (β = − 0.58, p = 0.010, R(2) = 0.45) and high cardiovascular fitness (β = − 0.49, p = 0.011, R(2) = 0.45) predicted successful motor sequence learning in older adults. DISCUSSION: Results confirmed impaired motor learning in older adults. Younger adults seem to show a better implicit knowledge of the practiced sequences compared to older adults. Regular participation in leisure time activities and cardiovascular fitness seem to prevent age-related decline and to facilitate motor sequence performance and motor sequence learning in older adults. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2020-07-02 2021 /pmc/articles/PMC8286216/ /pubmed/32617650 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01351-y Text en © The Author(s) 2020, corrected publication 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Original Article
Zwingmann, K.
Hübner, L.
Verwey, W. B.
Barnhoorn, J. S.
Godde, B.
Voelcker-Rehage, C.
Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
title Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
title_full Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
title_fullStr Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
title_full_unstemmed Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
title_short Regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
title_sort regular participation in leisure time activities and high cardiovascular fitness improve motor sequence learning in older adults
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8286216/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32617650
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01351-y
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