Motor Imagery Training Is Beneficial for Motor Memory of Upper and Lower Limb Tasks in Very Old Adults

Pauline M. Hilt, Mathilde F. Bertrand, Léonard Féasson, Florent Lebon, France Mourey, Célia Ruffino and Vianney Rozand ()
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Pauline M. Hilt: INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France
Mathilde F. Bertrand: Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, F-42023 Saint-Etienne, France
Léonard Féasson: Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, F-42023 Saint-Etienne, France
Florent Lebon: INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France
France Mourey: INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France
Célia Ruffino: INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France
Vianney Rozand: Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, F-42023 Saint-Etienne, France

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Human aging is associated with a decline in the capacity to memorize recently acquired motor skills. Motor imagery training is a beneficial method to compensate for this deterioration in old adults. It is not yet known whether these beneficial effects are maintained in very old adults (>80 years), who are more affected by the degeneration processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental training session of motor imagery on the memorization of new motor skills acquired through physical practice in very old adults. Thus, 30 very old adults performed 3 actual trials of a manual dexterity task (session 1) or a sequential footstep task (session 2) as fast as they could before and after a 20 min motor imagery training (mental-training group) or watching a documentary for 20 min (control group). Performance was improved after three actual trials for both tasks and both groups. For the control group, performance decreased in the manual dexterity task after the 20 min break and remained stable in the sequential footstep task. For the mental-training group, performance was maintained in the manual dexterity task after the 20 min motor imagery training and increased in the sequential footstep task. These results extended the benefits of motor imagery training to the very old population, showing that even a short motor imagery training session improved their performance and favored the motor memory process. These results confirmed that motor imagery training is an effective method to complement traditional rehabilitation protocols.

Keywords: training; imagined contractions; aging; performance improvement; motor skills; memorization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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