Aging and longitudinal change in perceptual-motor skill acquisition in healthy adults

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2005 Jul;60(4):P174-81. doi: 10.1093/geronb/60.4.p174.

Abstract

Knowledge about aging of perceptual-motor skills is based almost exclusively on cross-sectional studies. We examined age-related changes in the retention of mirror-tracing skills in healthy adults who practiced for 3 separate days at baseline and retrained 5 years later at follow-up. Overall, the speed and accuracy of an acquired skill were partially retained after a 5-year interim, although the same asymptote was reached. Analyses with individual learning curves indicated that the effects of age on mirror-tracing speed were greater at longitudinal follow-up than at baseline, with older adults requiring more training to reach asymptote. Thus, although the long-term retention of acquired skills declines with age, older adults still retain the ability to learn the skill. Moreover, those who maintained a processing speed comparable with that of the younger participants evidenced no age-related performance decrements on the mirror-drawing task.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aging / psychology*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Learning*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Motor Skills*
  • Perceptual Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Psychomotor Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Reaction Time
  • Retention, Psychology
  • Sex Factors
  • Time Factors