title: Life span changes: Performing a continuous 1:2 bimanual coordination task.
abstract: The experiment was conducted to determine the influence of mirror movements in bimanual coordination during life span. Children, young adults, and older adults were instructed to perform a continuous 1:2 bimanual coordination task by performing flexion-extension wrist movements over 30s where symmetrical and non-symmetrical coordination patterns alternate throughout the trial. The vision of the wrists was covered and Lissajous-feedback was provided online. All age groups had to perform 10 trials under three different load conditions (0kg, .5kg, 1.0kg: order counterbalanced). Load was manipulated to determine if increased load increases the likelihood of mirror movements. The data indicated that the performance of the young adults was superior compared to the children and older adults. Children and older adults showed a stronger tendency to develop mirror movements and had particular difficulty in performing the non-symmetrical mode. This type of influence may be attributed to neural crosstalk.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leinen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany; Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, 13288 Marseille cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Solveig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vieluf
authors.affiliation: Human Performance Laboratory, College Station, Texas A&M University, USA.
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Developmental Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
authors.forename: Gisa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aschersleben
authors.affiliation: Human Performance Laboratory, College Station, Texas A&M University, USA.
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany. Electronic address: s.panzer@mx.uni-saarland.de.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panzer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bimanual coordination; Motor development; Neural crosstalk