Liutsko Liudmila, Muiños Ruben, Tous-Ral Josep Maria
Department of Personality Assessment, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Laboratory of Mira y López, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Eur J Ageing. 2014 Jan 18;11(3):221-232. doi: 10.1007/s10433-013-0304-6. eCollection 2014 Sep.
Leversen et al. (PLoS One 7(6):e38830, 2012) emphasise the importance of understanding the principles of life-long development. In their study of motor control, they found a common tendency towards improved motor performance from childhood to adulthood and a subsequent deterioration. The aim of our study was to examine this issue further by investigating fine motor behaviour (tracing a model line) in 196 participants (age range 12-95 years old) in two sensory conditions-proprioceptive + visual (PV) and proprioceptive only-in both hands and in two types of movement, frontal and transversal. Regression analyses of line length and task performance speed in relation to age were conducted for the different test conditions. The best performance was found in middle age, and a quadratic function provided the best fit for most of the test conditions. The corresponding inflection points (the age at which graphical analysis showed a change in performance as a peak of maturation before decline due to ageing) showed earlier ages in the proprioceptive condition. For most types of movement analysed, performance speed was slower under the PV condition. Paired correlation analysis showed that the symmetry of precision performance between hands became stronger with age. The results provide information on age-dependent differences in proprioception based on fine motor performance. They may be of use in the design of preventive strategies for preserving proprioceptive function by reducing the risk of falls and accidents or diseases such as Parkinson's.
莱弗森等人（《公共科学图书馆·综合》7(6):e38830，2012年）强调了理解终身发展原则的重要性。在他们对运动控制的研究中，他们发现从童年到成年运动表现普遍有改善的趋势，随后会出现衰退。我们研究的目的是通过调查196名参与者（年龄范围12 - 95岁）在两种感觉条件下（本体感觉 + 视觉（PV）和仅本体感觉）双手进行的精细运动行为（追踪模型线）以及两种运动类型（ frontal和横向）来进一步研究这个问题。针对不同测试条件，对与年龄相关的线长和任务执行速度进行了回归分析。最佳表现出现在中年，并且二次函数对大多数测试条件拟合效果最佳。相应的拐点（图形分析显示表现变化为成熟高峰然后因衰老而下降的年龄）在本体感觉条件下出现的年龄更早。对于分析的大多数运动类型，在PV条件下执行速度较慢。配对相关分析表明，双手之间精确表现的对称性随着年龄增长而增强。这些结果提供了基于精细运动表现的本体感觉中年龄依赖性差异的信息。它们可能有助于设计预防策略，通过降低跌倒、事故或帕金森病等疾病的风险来保护本体感觉功能。
