Aging in movement representations for sequential finger movements: A comparison between young-, middle-aged, and older adults

Studies show that as we enter older adulthood (>64 years), our ability to mentally represent action in the form of using motor imagery declines. Using a chronometry paradigm to compare the movement duration of imagined and executed movements, we tested young-, middle-aged, and older adults on their ability to perform sequential finger (fine-motor) movements. The task required number recognition and ordering and was presented in three levels of complexity. Results for movement duration indicated no differences between young- and middle-aged adults, however both performed faster than the older group. In regard to the association between imagined and executed actions, correlation analyses indicated that values for all groups were positive and moderate (r's.80,.76,.70). In summary, whereas the older adults were significantly slower in processing actions than their younger counterparts, the ability to mentally represent their actions was similar. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.