Abstract
As the world's population ages, a deeper understanding of the relationship between aging and motor learning will become increasingly relevant in basic research and applied settings. In this context, this review aims to address the effects of age on motor sequence learning (MSL) and motor adaptation (MA) with respect to behavioral, neurological, and neuroimaging findings. Previous behavioral research investigating the influence of aging on motor learning has consistently reported the following results. First, the initial acquisition of motor sequences is not altered, except under conditions of increased task complexity. Second, older adults demonstrate deficits in motor sequence memory consolidation. And, third, although older adults demonstrate deficits during the exposure phase of MA paradigms, the aftereffects following removal of the sensorimotor perturbation are similar to young adults, suggesting that the adaptive ability of older adults is relatively intact. This paper will review the potential neural underpinnings of these behavioral results, with a particular emphasis on the influence of age-related dysfunctions in the cortico-striatal system on motor learning.
Highlights
The learning of new motor skills, as well as the modification of previously learned skills, is necessary for both the performance of everyday activities and the implementation of neurorehabilitative training programs following brain injury
Both motor sequence learning (MSL) and motor adaptation (MA) have been extensively studied in young subjects and are thought to follow several distinct phases: (1) a fast initial, within-session learning phase where the magnitude of the behavioral improvements is substantial; (2) a slow, across-session phase in which smaller behavioral improvements are evident over days, weeks, or months of practice; and, (3) an intermediate phase that occurs between practice sessions in which the motor memory is transformed from an initial labile trace to a more stable and resistant form (e.g., Karni et al, 1995, 1998; Doyon et al, 2003; Krakauer et al, 2005)
Consolidation and retention of learned motor sequences is thought to be dependent on the cortico-striatal network, whereas consolidation and retention following MA is predominantly considered a function of the cortico-cerebellar system (Krebs et al, 1998; Penhune and Doyon, 2002; Ungerleider et al, 2002; Doyon et al, 2003, 2009a; Doyon and Benali, 2005; Galea et al, 2010; Landi et al, 2011)
Summary
Functional Neuroimaging Unit, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada. As the world’s population ages, a deeper understanding of the relationship between aging and motor learning will become increasingly relevant in basic research and applied settings. In this context, this review aims to address the effects of age on motor sequence learning (MSL) and motor adaptation (MA) with respect to behavioral, neurological, and neuroimaging findings. Previous behavioral research investigating the influence of aging on motor learning has consistently reported the following results. Older adults demonstrate deficits in motor sequence memory consolidation. This paper will review the potential neural underpinnings of these behavioral results, with a particular emphasis on the influence of age-related dysfunctions in the cortico-striatal system on motor learning
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