<p> Research on motor learning between old and young adults has shown that young adults benefit from high levels contextual interference (CI) and perform faster than older adults. This project analyzed retention performance in young and older adults with high CI and low CI from a previously completed study for insights about similarities and differences in motor retention. Specifically, young (21-39 years) and old (>71 years) participants performed under random (high CI) and blocked (low CI) practice to determine which practice condition facilitated the retention of motor performance. Participants moved the lever either in random or in blocked fashion to achieve a target position of20°, 30°, 40°, and 50°. Data analysis was completed for movement accuracy and the movement pattern kinematics. Results indicated that random practice led to accurate motor skill learning than blocked practice; older adults were slower as compared to young; but, there was no age related difference found in terms of movement accuracy and consistency. These findings indicate that older adults move slower, but appear to learn movements in similar way to their younger cohorts.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1527020 |
| Date | 05 December 2014 |
| Creators | Patel, Priyank K. |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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