title: Effects of aging on strategic-based visuomotor learning.
abstract: There are different kinds of visuomotor learnings. One of the most studied is error-based learning where the information about the sign and magnitude of the error is used to update the motor commands. However, there are other instances where subjects show visuomotor learning even if the use of error sign and magnitude information is precluded. In those instances subjects could be using strategic instead of procedural adaptation mechanisms. Here, we present the results of the effect of aging on visuomotor strategic learning under a reversed error feedback condition, and its contrast with procedural visuomotor learning within the same participants. A number of measures were obtained from a task consisting of throwing clay balls to a target before, during and after wearing lateral displacing or reversing prisms. The displacing prism results show an age dependent decrease on the learning rate that corroborates previous findings. The reversing prism results also show significant adaptation impairment in the aged population. However, decreased reversing learning in the older group was the result of an increase in the number of subjects that could not adapt to the reversing prism, and not on a reduction of the learning capacity of all the individuals of the group. These results suggest a significant deleterious effect of aging on visuomotor strategic learning implementation.
authors.affiliation: Posgrado en Neuroetología, Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico; Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alfonso Uresti-Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsicología, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vaca-Palomares
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsicología, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: Rosalinda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beltran-Parrazal
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsicología, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico. Electronic address: jfr@unam.mx.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Ruiz
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Prism adaptation; Procedural learning; Strategic-based learning; Visual reversing; Visuomotor learning