Sensorimotor adaptation in young and elderly humans.
Our brain's capacity for adaptation allows us to interact meaningfully with an ever-changing environment. Experimental evidence suggests that the time course of sensorimotor adaptation is preserved or only moderately degraded in old age, and that seniors benefit from a previous adaptive experience even more than younger subjects. However, experimental evidence suggests that sensorimotor adaptation seems to be associated with a higher computational load in the elderly. We discuss two possible explanations for this pattern of findings: Older adults may take longer to consolidate newly gained information into long-term motor memory, or they may have problems to utilize supplementary (e.g. cognitive) strategies. In any case, the age-related deficits were relatively mild. If these deficits are related to an increased computational load, it should be possible to reduce them by extended practice on adaptation tasks.
Bock
Otmar
O
Department of Physiology, German Sport University, D-50927, Köln, Germany. bock@dshs-koeln.de
Schneider
Stefan
S
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology