Motor tests and cognition in healthy older adults.
The Finger Tapping Test (FTT) and Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT) are commonly used in neuropsychological assessments. The performance of healthy older adults on these tasks has not been well characterized in the existing literature. The present study examines FTT and GPT performance in a sample of 307 community-dwelling older individuals (ages 55-74) with no neurological or psychiatric history.


RESULTS
FTT performance was influenced by age, gender, and education, while GPT performance was influenced by age and gender. Findings are presented for both hands, as well as dominant-to-non-dominant hand ratio score, on each test. Correlations with other neuropsychological measures demonstrated that the GPT is more strongly correlated with measures of most domains (memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and spatial organization) than the FTT.


CONCLUSIONS
While the FTT can be used to measure upper extremity motor ability, the GPT may be more strongly associated with general cognitive functioning in healthy adults. The FTT and GPT results presented will improve the utility of these tasks in clinical assessments of older adults.
Ashendorf
Lee
L
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, Massachusetts 01730, USA. Lee.Ashendorf@va.gov
Vanderslice-Barr
Jana L
JL
McCaffrey
Robert J
RJ
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors