title: Sleep-dependent motor memory consolidation in older adults depends on task demands.
abstract: It is often suggested that sleep-dependent consolidation of motor learning is impaired in older adults. The current study challenges this view and suggests that the degree of motor consolidation seen with sleep in older age groups depends on the kinematic demands of the task. We show that, when tested with a classic sequence learning task, requiring individuated finger movements, older adults did not show sleep-dependent consolidation. By contrast, when tested with an adapted sequence learning task, in which movements were performed with the whole hand, sleep-dependent motor improvement was observed in older adults. We suggest that age-related decline in fine motor dexterity may in part be responsible for the previously described deficit in sleep-dependent motor consolidation with aging.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: christel.gudberg@ndcn.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gudberg
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wulff
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Johansen-Berg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Consolidation; Fine motor skill; Motor memory; Sequence learning; Sleep