Comparisons of psychomotor performance between the upper and lower extremities in three age groups.
Decreasing speed of foot movement is a serious perceptual-motor impairment for older individuals such as in walking and driving. The present study examined the relationship between age and psychomotor performance for upper vs lower extremities. A visual stimulus was used to measure the speed of finger and foot movement responses, i.e., choice reaction time and total response time. 32 healthy persons, ranging in age from 9 to 75 years, were divided into three groups: ages 9-10, ages 20-30, and age 60 and above. A 3 (age group) x 2 (test: finger vs foot) two-way analysis of variance on converted Z scores indicated a significant effect on age group and an interaction between test and age group. While the elderly group showed poorest over-all performance, their lower extremity response was identified to be relatively slower than their upper-extremity response.
Li
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Department of Human Movement Sciences and Education, University of Memphis, TN 38152, USA. li.yuhua@coe.memphis.edu
McColgin
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Van Oteghen
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology; D005528:Foot / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology