Evidence for associations between Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test and motor skill learning in older adults

Acta Psychologica

Kevin Duff¹  Sydney Y. Schaefer²  Peiyuan Wang³  Keith R. Lohse⁴  Jennapher Lingo VanGilder⁵ 

[1] Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Utah, United States Of America;Department of Neurology, University of Utah Hospital, United States Of America;Center for Alzheimer's Care, Imaging and Research, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, United States Of America;Deparment of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, University of Utah, United States Of America;School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, United States Of America;

关键词: Visuospatial assessment;    Cognitive aging;    Physical rehabilitation;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Age-related declines in motor learning may be related to poor visuospatial function. Thus, visuospatial testing could evaluate older adults' potential for motor learning, which has implications for geriatric motor rehabilitation. To this end, the purpose of this study was to identify which visuospatial test is most predictive of motor learning within older adults. Forty-five nondemented older adults completed six standardized visuospatial tests, followed by three weekly practice sessions on a functional upper-extremity motor task. Participants were re-tested 1 month later on the trained task and another untrained upper-extremity motor task to evaluate the durability and generalizability of motor learning, respectively. Principal component analysis first reduced the dimensions of the visuospatial battery to two principal components for inclusion in a mixed-effects model that assessed one-month follow-up performance as a function of baseline performance and the principal components. Of the two components, only one was related to one-month follow-up. Factor loadings and post hoc analyses suggested that of the six visuospatial tests, the Rey-Osterrieth test (visual construction and memory) was related to one-month follow-up of the trained and untrained tasks. Thus, it may be plausible that older adults' long-term motor learning capacity could be evaluated using the Rey-Osterrieth test, which would be feasible to administer prior to motor rehabilitation to indicate risk of non-responsiveness to therapy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown