Weller M P, Latimer-Sayer D T
Psychol Med. 1985 Nov;15(4):867-72. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700005109.
A standardized pegboard task was used to investigate changes in manipulative skill as a function of age in 119 right-handed subjects. The typical pattern of cognitive impairment in old age indicates a relative preservation of functions which depend on the integrity of the left hemisphere. In accord with these observations, we predicted that, with increasing age, right hand motor skills would be better preserved than left hand skills. We found this on initial exposure to the task (P less than 0.01); however, the phenomenon was masked by practice, because older subjects (over 60 years of age) derived more improvement to their left hand motor skill, as a result of practice, than they did to their right hand skill (P less than 0.05). The asymmetrical effects of ageing on motor skill may be relevant to the increasing prevalence of emotional lability and neurosis in the elderly, since emotional control is thought to be dependent on right hemisphere mechanisms.
采用标准化的钉板任务，对119名右利手受试者的操作技能随年龄变化的情况进行了研究。老年人认知障碍的典型模式表明，依赖左半球完整性的功能相对保留。与这些观察结果一致，我们预测，随着年龄的增长，右手运动技能的保留情况会比左手技能更好。在初次接触该任务时我们发现了这一点（P<0.01）；然而，这种现象被练习掩盖了，因为老年受试者（60岁以上）由于练习，左手运动技能的改善程度比右手技能更大（P<0.05）。衰老对运动技能的不对称影响可能与老年人情绪不稳定和神经症患病率的增加有关，因为情绪控制被认为依赖于右半球机制。
