Modifications with aging in the role played by vision and proprioception for movement control

Area of Science:

• Motor Control
• Human Movement Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Age-related differences in motor performance are well-documented.
• Understanding how sensory information is integrated for motor learning across the lifespan is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age-related differences in motor aiming movement adaptation.
• To examine the role of proprioception and vision in motor learning for young and older adults.

Main Methods:

• Manual aiming movements were performed by young and older adults under different practice conditions (proprioception + vision vs. proprioception-only).
• Knowledge of results (KR) was provided after each acquisition trial.
• A transfer test without KR and with varying visual feedback assessed motor memory retention and reliance on sensory cues.

Main Results:

• Younger adults were more spatially accurate during acquisition than older adults.
• Withdrawing KR did not affect accuracy for proprioception-only trained participants.
• Withdrawing vision and KR in the transfer test increased spatial error for both age groups, but less so for older adults.
• Older adults maintained performance comparable to proprioception-only trained participants in the transfer test.

Conclusions:

• Older adults appear to rely more on proprioceptive cues for motor control, even after practicing with vision.
• Younger adults develop a more integrated sensory reference, potentially hindering reliance on proprioception alone when vision is removed.
• Age influences the processing and utilization of sensory information during motor learning and adaptation.