Age differences and practice effects on serial movement programming

• Main Authors: Shang-wu Lin, 林尚武
• Other Authors: Hank Junling Jwo
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/11395322296995427061

博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 體育學系 === 100 === The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of age differences and practice on serial movement programming. Twelve children, twelve young adults, and twelve older adults served as participants. The task was a rapid serial movement consisting of two targets. Participants were asked to hold a stylus to tap targets sequentially, and perform the task as quickly and accurately as possible. The study was divided into two parts. Part 1 examined age-related differences in serial movement programming. In the task, the first target size was constant, whereas there were large or small size conditions for the second targets. Each condition consisted of 10 trials, and different conditions were arranged with counter-balancing. Part 2 examined the effect of practice on serial movement programming in different age individuals. Each participant practiced 225 trails in the small second target condition. Reaction time and kinematic measures were recorded by six degrees of freedom Polhemus Liberty system. The mixed-design two-way ANOVA and generalized motor program analysis revealed that (1) when children, young adults, and older adults performed the serial movement, reaction time and the initial movement kinematics were affected by the subsequent movement difficulty, and the serial movement was implemented by a single motor program. When difficulty of the subsequent movement increased, however, older adults spent more time in on-line corrections, suggesting there were age differences in serial movement programming; (2) by practice, children, young adults, and older adults speeded up the programming of serial movement and modified parameters to decrease movement time. In addition, although movement experience could not change the number of motor program of serial movement, it did result in the modifications of movement relative timing in children and young adults, which was not the case in older adults.