Developmental Motor Cognition Lab, Center for Healthy Living and Longevity, The University of Texas at Arlington, United States.
Brain Cogn. 2013 Jun;82(1):1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2013.02.003. Epub 2013 Mar 16.
Studies show that as we enter older adulthood (>64years), our ability to mentally represent action in the form of using motor imagery declines. Using a chronometry paradigm to compare the movement duration of imagined and executed movements, we tested young-, middle-aged, and older adults on their ability to perform sequential finger (fine-motor) movements. The task required number recognition and ordering and was presented in three levels of complexity. Results for movement duration indicated no differences between young- and middle-aged adults, however both performed faster than the older group. In regard to the association between imagined and executed actions, correlation analyses indicated that values for all groups were positive and moderate (r's .80,.76,.70). In summary, whereas the older adults were significantly slower in processing actions than their younger counterparts, the ability to mentally represent their actions was similar.
研究表明，随着我们进入老年期（>64 岁），我们以运动意象的形式在心理上再现动作的能力会下降。本研究采用时间测定范式，比较了年轻人、中年人、老年人想象和执行运动的运动持续时间，以测试他们执行顺序手指（精细运动）运动的能力。任务要求识别和排序数字，并呈现三个复杂程度水平。运动持续时间的结果表明，年轻人和中年人之间没有差异，但两者都比老年人组更快。关于想象和执行动作之间的关联，相关分析表明，所有组的值均为阳性且中度相关（r 值分别为.80、.76、.70）。综上所述，虽然老年人在处理动作方面明显慢于年轻人，但他们在心理上再现动作的能力相似。
