Search results for "Psychomotor Performance"
showing 10 items of 370 documents
Physical Activity Predicts Population-Level Age-Related Differences in Frontal White Matter
2020
Physical activity has positive effects on brain health and cognitive function throughout the life span. Thus far, few studies have examined the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure and psychomotor speed within the same, population-based sample (critical if conclusions are to extend to the wider population). Here, using diffusion tensor imaging and a simple reaction time task within a relatively large population-derived sample (N = 399; 18–87 years) from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), we demonstrate that physical activity mediates the effect of age on white matter integrity, measured with fractional anisotropy. Higher self-reported daily ph…
Mentally represented motor actions in normal agingII. The influence of the gravito-inertial context on the duration of overt and covert arm movements
2007
Here, we address the question of whether normal aging influences action representation by comparing the ability of 14 young (age: 23.6 +/- 2.1 years) and 14 older (age: 70.1 +/- 4.5 years) adults to mentally simulate arm movements under a varying dynamic context. We conducted two experiments in which we experimentally manipulated the gravity and inertial components of arm dynamics: (i) unloaded and loaded vertical arm movements, rotation around the shoulder joint, (ii) unloaded and loaded horizontal arm movements, rotations around the shoulder and elbow joints, in two directions (inertial anisotropy phenomenon). The main findings indicated that imagery ability was equivalent between the two…
The development of involuntary and voluntary attention from childhood to adulthood: A combined behavioral and event-related potential study
2006
Abstract Objective This study investigated auditory involuntary and voluntary attention in children aged 6–8, 10–12 and young adults. The strength of distracting stimuli (20% and 5% pitch changes) and the amount of allocation of attention were varied. Methods In an auditory distraction paradigm event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral data were measured from subjects either performing a sound duration discrimination task or watching a silent video. Results Pitch changed sounds caused prolonged reaction times and decreased hit rates in all age groups. Larger distractors (20%) caused stronger distraction in children, but not in adults. The amplitudes of mismatch negativity (MMN), P3a, a…
An emotional Stroop task with faces and words. A comparison of young and older adults
2017
Abstract Antecedents Given the contradictions of previous studies on the changes in attentional responses produced in aging a Stroop emotional task was proposed to compare young and older adults to words or faces with an emotional valence. Method The words happy or sad were superimposed on faces that express the emotion of happiness or sadness. The emotion expressed by the word and the face could agree or not (cued and uncued trials, respectively). 85 young and 66 healthy older adults had to identify both faces and words separately, and the interference between the two types of stimuli was examined. Results An interference effect was observed for both types of stimuli in both groups. There …
Physical Activity Predicts Population-Level Age-Related Differences in Frontal White Matter
2018
Physical activity has positive effects on brain health and cognitive function throughout the life span. Thus far, few studies have examined the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure and psychomotor speed within the same, population-based sample (critical if conclusions are to extend to the wider population). Here, using diffusion tensor imaging and a simple reaction time task within a relatively large population-derived sample (N = 399; 18–87 years) from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), we demonstrate that physical activity mediates the effect of age on white matter integrity, measured with fractional anisotropy. Higher self-reported daily ph…
Reaction and Movement Times in Men of Different Ages: A Population Study
1986
Tests of psychomotor and motor speed at different levels of complexity were studied in random samples of men aged 31 to 35, 51 to 55, and 71 to 75 yr. The study was performed as a part of a larger research project on health and functional aging. Analyses indicated significantly slower responses among older men at all levels of test complexity (maximal knee extension velocity, tapping rate, simple and choice reaction and movement times). There were marked differences both between the youngest and the middle-aged groups and between the middle-aged and the oldest groups. Within the age groups high psychomotor and motor speed were associated with a favourable functioning of certain senses (vib…
Age slowing down in detection and visual discrimination under varying presentation times
2017
[EN] The reaction time has been described as a measure of perception, decision making, and other cognitive processes. The aim of this work is to examine agerelated changes in executive functions in terms of demand load under varying presentation times. Two tasks were employed where a signal detection and a discrimination task were performed by young and older university students. Furthermore, a characterization of the response time distribution by an exGaussian fit was carried out. The results indicated that the older participants were slower than the younger ones in signal detection and discrimination. Moreover, the differences between both processes for the older participants were higher,…
Balance control interferes with the tracing performance of a pattern with mirror-reversed vision in older persons
2014
When tracing a template with mirror-reversed vision (or distorted vision), the sensory information arising from the movement does not match the expected sensory consequences. In such situations, participants have to learn a new visuomotor mapping in order to trace the template with an accuracy and speed approaching that observed when tracing with direct vision. There are several suggestions that such visuomotor learning requires lowering the gain of the proprioceptive inputs. Generally, subjects learn this task in a seated condition offering a stable postural platform. Adapting to the new visuomotor relationship in a standing condition could add complexity and even hinder sensorimotor adapt…
Technical determinants of biathlon standing shooting performance before and after race simulation
2018
The aim of this study was to identify performance- determining factors in biathlon standing shooting in rest and after intense exercise. Eight Finnish national- and nine junior- team biathletes participated in the study. Participants fired 40 resting shots (REST) and 2 × 5 competition simulation shots (LOAD) after 5 minutes of roller skiing at 95% of peak heart rate. Hit percentage, aiming point trajectory and postural balance were measured from each shot. Cleanness of triggering (ATV, movement of the aiming point 0- 0.2 second before the shot) and vertical stability of hold (DevY) were the most important components affecting shooting performance both in REST (DevY, R = −0.61, P < .01; ATV,…
Mirror Visual Feedback Training Improves Intermanual Transfer in a Sport-Specific Task: A Comparison between Different Skill Levels
2016
Mirror training therapy is a promising tool to initiate neural plasticity and facilitate the recovery process of motor skills after diseases such as stroke or hemiparesis by improving the intermanual transfer of fine motor skills in healthy people as well as in patients. This study evaluated whether these augmented performance improvements by mirror visual feedback (MVF) could be used for learning a sport-specific skill and if the effects are modulated by skill level. A sample of 39 young, healthy, and experienced basketball and handball players and 41 novices performed a stationary basketball dribble task at a mirror box in a standing position and received either MVF or direct feedback. Af…