Abstract
An experiment was performed which examined the proprioception accuracy of young (20–25 yrs) and elderly (70–80 yrs) subjects on an upper extremity matching task. The subjects performed the task under conditions which required them to primarily rely on proprioception input (constrained movements) or allowed them the additional use of a goal-directed motor outflow (preselected movements) to assist in their matching. Of main interest was whether preselected movements would exhibit the same error patterns as constrained movements in the elderly as some decrease in proprioception was expected.
The experiment found that with constrained movements limb matching accuracy deteriorated substantially in the elderly. In contrast, with the preselected movements, where in addition to proprioception, the use of a goal-directed motor outflow was available to aid in the matching, no deterioration in accuracy was found between age groups. The results are interpreted as evidence that when a goal-directed “corollary discharge” is available which can preset the motor system for anticipatory sensory information, no age changes in proprioception acuity are observed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brockelhurst, J.C., Robertson, D., and James-Groom, P.: Clinical correlates of sway in old age — sensory modalities. Age Ageing, 11:1–10, 1982.
Larish, D., and Stelmach, G.E.: Preprogramming, programming and reprogramming of aimed hand movements as a function of age. J. Motor Behav., 14:322–340, 1982.
Stelmach, G.E., and Worringham, C.J.: Sensorimotor deficits related to posturat stability: Implications for falls in the elderly. Clinics in Geriat. Med., 1:679–694, 1985.
Welford, A.T.: Motor performance, in Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, edited by Birren, J.E. and Schaie, K.W., New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1977, pp. 3–20.
Salthouse, T.A.: Speed of behavior and its implications for cognition, in Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, edited by Birren, J.E. and Schaie, K.W., New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985, pp. 400–426.
Stauffer, R.N., Chao, E.Y.S., and Gyory, A.N.: Biomechanical gait analysis of the diseased knee. Joint. Clin. Orthop., pp. 126–246, 1976.
Kenshalo, D.R.: Age changes in touch, vibration, temperature, kinesthesis and pain sensitivity, in Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, edited by Birren, J.E. and Schaie, K.W., New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1977, pp. 562–579.
Verrillo, R.T.: Change in vibrotactile thresholds as a function of age. Sensory Processes, 3: 49–59, 1979.
Rabbitt, P., and Rogers, M.: Age and choice between responses in a self-paced repetitive task. Ergonomics, 8:435–444, 1965.
Laidlaw, R.W., and Hamilton, M.A.: A study of thresholds in apprerception of passive movement among normal control subjects. Bull. Neurol. Inst., 6:268–273, 1937.
Kokmen, E., Bossemeyer, R.W., and Williams, W.J.: Quantitative evaluation of joint motion sensation in an aging population. J. Geront., 33:62–67, 1978.
Jordan, T.: Age differences in visual and kinesthetic short-term memory. Percept. Mot. Skills, 46: 667–674, 1978.
Toole, T., Pyne, A., and McTarsney, P.A.: Age differences in memory for movement. Exper. Aging Res., 10:205–209, 1984.
Skinner, H.B., Barrack, R.L., and Cook, S.D.: Age-related decline in proprioception. Clin. Orthop., 184:208–211, 1984.
Barrack, R.L., Skinner, H.B., Cook, S.D., and Haddock, R.J.: Effect of articular disease and total knee arthroplasty on knee joint-position sense. J. Neurophysiol., 50:684–687, 1983.
Kaplan, F.S., Nixon, J.E., Reitz, M., Rindfleish, and Tucker, J.: Age-related changes in proprioception and sensation of joint position. Acta Orthop. Scand., 56:72–74, 1985.
Larish, D., Stelmach, G., and McCracken, H.: Generalizability of Preselection, in Psychology of Motor Behavior and Sport, edited by Roberts, G.C. and Newell, K.M. Human Kinetics, pp. 204–218, 1978.
Worringham, C.J., and Stelmach, G.E.: Gravitational torques in limb position sense. Exp. Brain Res., 61, 38–42, 1985.
Kelso, J.A.S., and Stelmach, G.E.: Central and peripheral mechanisms in motor control, in Motor Control: Issues and Trends, edited by Stelmach, G.E., Academic Press, 1976, 00. 1–35.
Stelmach, G.E., Kelso, J.A.S., and Wallace, S.A. Preselection, in short-term motor memory. J. Exper. Psych.: Hum. Learning and Memory, 1:745–775, 1975.
Kelso, J.A.S., and Wallace, S.A.: Conscious mechanisms in movement, in Information Processing in Motor Learning and Control, edited by Stelmach, G.E., New York, Academic Press, 1978, pp. 79–115.
Kokmen, E., Bossemeyer, R.W., Barney, J., and Williams, W.J.: Neurological manifestations of aging. J. Geront., 32:411–419, 1977.
Teuber, H.L.: Key problems in the programming of movements. Brain Res., 71:535–568, 1974.
Sperry, R.W.: A modified concept of consciousness. Psychol., Rev., 76:532–536, 1969.
Stelmach, G.E., and Wilson, M.: Kinesthetic retention, movement extent, and information processing. J. Exper. Psych., pp. 85, 425–430, 1970.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Stelmach, G.E., Sirica, A. Aging and proprioception. AGE 9, 99–103 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02432281
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02432281