ALTERED MOVEMENT STRUCTURE IN THE ELDERLY

描述（改编自研究者摘要）：随着个体年龄的增长， 他们的运动控制性能通常会恶化;特别是， 它们的动作变得更慢更多变 我们已经表明，在一个 瞄准任务的大部分放缓可以归因于老年人如何 受试者组织他们的动作。 与年轻人相比，他们 通常执行包含较短运动的瞄准运动。 我们有 还确定，即使延长实践，老年人不会改变， 这些子运动之间的关系表明， 对运动结构的修改反映了 运动系统。 在此应用中，通过一系列的实验，我们寻求 来理解为什么老年人会改变他们的动作结构。 四 主要的假设进行检查，探讨潜在的原因，这 修改：增加肌肉共收缩，增加力量的变化， 视觉-本体感受校准降低，以及协调控制降低。 在每个实验中，采用了将瞄准运动 并探讨它们之间的关系 根据四个假设所做的预测。 这个实验序列是 第一个全面研究小学和中学分运动， 老人

DESCRIPTION (adapted from investigator's abstract): As individuals age, their movement control performance generally deteriorates; in particular, their movements get slower and more variable. We have shown that in an aiming task much of the slowing can be attributed to how the elderly subjects structure their movements. In comparison to younger subjects, they typically execute aiming movements that contain a shorter movement. We have also established that even with extended practice, the elderly do not change the relationship between these sub-movements which suggests that these modifications to the movement structure reflect fundamental changes in the motor system. In this application through a series of experiments, we seek to understand why the elderly alter the structure of their movements. Four major hypotheses are examined that probe potential causes of this modification: increase muscle cocontraction, increased force variability, reduced visuo-proprioceptive calibration, and reduced coordination control. In each experiment a methodology is employed that divides aiming movements into primary and secondary sub-movements and investigates their relationship to predictions made from the four hypotheses. This experimental sequence is the first to comprehensively examine primary and secondary sub-movements in the elderly.