Abstract
We recently found that older adults show reduced learning rates when learning a new pattern of coordinated rhythmic movement. The purpose of this study was to extend that finding by examining the performance of all ages across the lifespan from the 20 s through to the 80 s to determine how learning rates change with age. We tested whether adults could learn to produce a novel coordinated rhythmic movement (90° relative phase) in a visually guided unimanual task. We determined learning rates to quantify changes in learning with age and to determine at what ages the changes occur. We found, as before, that learning rates of participants in their 70 s and 80 s were half those of participants in their 20 s. We also found a gradual slow decline in learning rate with age until approximately age 50, when there was a sudden drop to a reduced learning rate for the 60 though 80 year olds. We discuss possible causes for the “50 s cliff” in perceptuo-motor learning rates and suggest that age related deficits in perception of complex motions may be the key to understanding this result.
Highlights
The coordination of perception and action is intrinsic to numerous tasks of daily living such as walking, eating, dressing and driving a vehicle
We investigated the rest of the lifespan between these ages to determine how learning rates change with age
The purpose of this study was to extend that finding by examining the performance of all ages across the lifespan from 20 s through to 80 s to determine how learning rates change with age
Summary
The coordination of perception and action is intrinsic to numerous tasks of daily living such as walking, eating, dressing and driving a vehicle. Coordination is of primary concern to older adults because the loss of the ability to produce smooth coordinated muscle activity will lead to an increased risk of falling [1] and a decreased social and functional independence [2]. Older adults are often required to re-learn coordination skills after injury, or learn new patterns of coordination such as fastening buttons with one hand or walking with walking sticks. New tasks need to be learned on a continuous basis, especially with the advances in technology we are experiencing at the moment, and anyone can suffer from an injury that results in the need to re-learn previously attained coordinative skills. We recently discovered that older adults in their 70 s and 80 s learned a new pattern of coordination at half the rate of a group of 20 year olds [3]. We investigated the rest of the lifespan between these ages to determine how learning rates change with age
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