Aging affects the mental simulation/planning of the "rising from the floor" sequence.
We investigated the effect of aging on the ability to mentally simulate/plan a complex sequential action of the whole body, namely "rising from the floor". Forty-four non-demented elderly people (mean age: 85.2±5.5 years) and 20 young people (mean age: 26.6±4.9 years) were included in the study. They were required to put in order six images representing the main movements necessary to get up from a sitting position on the floor. We showed that older subjects had poorer performance-both in terms of proportion of success and response time-than their younger counterparts. These results are in line with previous findings showing age-related alterations in action simulation/action planning processes, and highlight the fact that elderly people have particular difficulties when the action to mentally simulate is complex.
Saimpont
Arnaud
A
INSERM U887 Motricité-Plasticité, Université de Bourgogne, Campus Universitaire Montmuzard, BP 27 877, 21078 Dijon Cedex, France. arnaudsaimpont@hotmail.com
Mourey
France
F
Manckoundia
Patrick
P
Pfitzenmeyer
Pierre
P
Pozzo
Thierry
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016288:Computer Terminals; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D012984:Software