Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effects of aging on the asymmetry of inter-limb transfer in a visuomotor task

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Experimental Brain Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The direction of the asymmetry of inter-limb transfer has been suggested to identify the specialization of each hemisphere when performing a motor task. In an earlier study, we showed that trajectory information is only transferred from the right to the left hand, while final movement outcome-associated parameters transferred in both directions when right-hand-dominant individuals perform a motor task with visual distorted feedback. In the current study, we try to replicate this finding in young adults and test whether the asymmetry of inter-limb transfer in visuomotor task reduces in older adults, suggesting that hemispheric lateralization reduces with age. Young and older adults (all right-hand-dominant) performed a multidirectional point-to-point drawing task in which the visual feedback was rotated and the gain was increased. Half of the participants in each age group trained with the right hand and the other half trained with the left hand. Performances of both hands with non-distorted and distorted visual feedback were collected from all participants before and after the training session. The results showed that the pattern of inter-limb transfer was similar between young and older adults, i.e., inter-limb transfer is asymmetric for initial direction and symmetric for movement time and trajectory length. The results suggest that older adults retain the specialized functions of the non-dominant (right) hemisphere allowing them to program movement direction of a graphic aiming task when visual feedback is distorted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anguera JA, Russell CA, Noll DC, Seidler RD (2007) Neural correlates associated with intermanual transfer of sensorimotor adaptation. Brain Res 1185:136–151

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balitsky Thompson AK, Henriques DYP (2010) Visuomotor adaptation and intermanual transfer under different viewing conditions. Exp Brain Res 202(3):543–552

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cabeza R (2002) Hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults: the HAROLD model. Psychol Aging 17(1):85–100

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cabeza R, Anderson ND, Locantore JK, McIntosh AR (2002) Aging gracefully: compensatory brain activity in high-performing older adults. NeuroImage 17(3):1394–1402

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cabeza R, Daselaar SM, Dolcos F, Prince SE, Budde M, Nyberg L (2004) Task-independent and task-specific age effects on brain activity during working memory, visual attention and episodic retrieval. Cereb Cortex 14(4):364–375

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Criscimagna-Hemminger SE, Donchin O, Gazzaniga MS, Shadmehr R (2003) Learned dynamics of reaching movements generalize from dominant to nondominant arm. J Neurophysiol 89(1):168–176

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Di Fabio RP, Emasithi A (1997) Aging and the mechanisms underlying head and postural control during voluntary motion. Phys Ther 77(5):458–475

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR (1975) “Mini-mental state”. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiat Res 12(3):189–198

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gazzaniga MS (1970) The Bisected brain. Neuroscience series, 2. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghilardi M, Ghze C, Dhawan V, Moeller J, Mentis M, Nakamura T, Antonini A, Eidelberg D (2000) Patterns of regional brain activation associated with different forms of motor learning. Brain Res 871:127–145

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hellige JB (1993) Hemispheric asymmetry: what’s right and what’s left. Perspectives in cognitive neuroscience. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks RE (1974) Asymmetry of bilateral transfer. Am J Psychol 87(4):667–674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinder MR, Schmidt MW, Garry MI, Carroll TJ, Summers JJ (2011) Absence of cross-limb transfer of performance gains following ballistic motor practice in older adults. J Appl Physiol 110:166–175

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hinder MR, Carroll TJ, Summers JJ (2013) Inter-limb transfer of ballistic motor skill following non-dominant limb training in young and older adults3. Exp Brain Res 227:19–29

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Imamizu H, Shimojo S (1995) The locus of visual-motor learning at the task of manipulator level—implications from intermanual transfer. J Exp Psychol Human 21(4):719–733

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Inoue K, Kawashima R, Satoh K, Kinomura S, Goto R, Sugiura M, Ito M, Fukuda H (1997) Activity in the parietal area during visuomotor learning with optical rotation. Neuroreport 8(18):3979–3983

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Inoue K, Kawashima R, Satoh K, Kinomura S, Sugiura M, Goto R, Ito M, Fuckuda H (2000) A PET study of visuomotor learning under optical rotation. Neuroimage 11:505–516

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krakauer JW, Ghilardi MF, Mentis M, Barnes A, Veytsman M, Eidelberg D, Ghez C (2004) Differential cortical and subcortical activations in learning rotations and gains for reaching: a PET study. J Neurophysiol 91(2):924–933

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Mandal MK (2005) Bilateral transfer of skill in left- and right-handers. Laterality 10(4):337–344

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Langan J, Seidler RD (2011) Age differences in spatial working memory contributions to visuomotor adaptation and transfer. Behav Brain Res 225(1):160–168

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Langan J, Peltier SJ, Bo J, Fling BW, Welsh RC, Seidler RD (2010) Functional implications of age differences in motor system connectivity. Frontiers Syst Neurosci 4:17

    Google Scholar 

  • Mutha PK, Sainburg RL, Haaland KY (2011) Left parietal regions are critical for adaptive visuomotor control. J Neurosci 31(19):6972–6981

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mutha PK, Haaland KY, Sainburg RL (2012) The effects of brain lateralization on motor control and adaptation. J Mot Behav 44(6):455–469

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Institute on Aging and the World Health Organization (2011) Global health and aging. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/sites/default/files/global_health_and_aging.pdf

  • Oldfield RC (1971) The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia 9(1):97–113

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pai YC, Wening JD, Runtz EF, Iqbal K, Pavol MJ (2003) Role of feedforward control of movement stability in reducing slip-related balance loss and falls among older adults. J Neurophysiol 90(2):755–762

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Z, Van Gemmert AWA (2013) The direction of bilateral transfer depends on the performance parameter. Hum Move Sci, http:dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2012.02.013

  • Parlow SE, Kinsbourne M (1989) Asymmetrical transfer of training between hands—implications for interhemispheric communication in normal brain. Brain Cogn 11(1):98–113

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Przybyla A, Haaland KY, Bagesteiro LB, Sainburg RL (2011) Motor asymmetry reduction in older adults. Neuros Lett 489(2):99–104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sainburg RL (2002) Evidence for a dynamic-dominance hypothesis of handedness. Exp Brain Res 142(2):241–258

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sainburg RL, Wang J (2002) Interlimb transfer of visuomotor rotations: independence of direction and final position information. Exp Brain Res 145(4):437–447

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer S, Schumacher V (2011) The interplay between cognitive and motor functioning in healthy older adults: findings from dual-task studies and suggestions for intervention. Gerontology 57(3):239–246

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seidler RD (2007) Aging affects motor learning but not savings at transfer of learning. Learn Mem 14(1–2):17–21

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor HG, Heilman KM (1980) Left-hemisphere motor dominance in righthanders. Cortex 16(4):587–603

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira LA (2000) Timing and force components in bilateral transfer of learning. Brain Cogn 44(3):455–469

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thut G, Cook ND, Regard M, Leenders KL, Halsband U, Landis T (1996) Intermanual transfer of proximal and distal motor engrams in humans. Exp Brain Res 108(2):321–327

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walker N, Philbin DA, Fisk AD (1997) Age-related differences in movement control: adjusting submovement structure to optimize performance. J Gerontol Psychol Sci 52(1):P40–P52

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Sainburg RL (2004) Interlimb transfer of novel inertial dynamics is symmetrical. J Neurophysiol 92:349–360

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Sainburg RL (2006) The symmetry of interlimb transfer depends on workspace locations. Exp Brain Res 170(4):464–471

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Przybyla A, Wuebbenhorst K, Haaland KY, Sainburg RL (2011) Aging reduces asymmetries in interlimb transfer of visuomotor adaptation. Exp Brain Res 210(2):283–290

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was partially funded by an LSU Life Course and Aging Center (LCAC) graduate assistant enhancement and a Lillia Oleson Scholarship award. The preliminary results were presented at the Conference of Progress in Motor Control VIII (PMCVIII), Cincinnati, OH, 2011.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fine Motor Control and Learning Laboratory, School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 112 HP Long Fieldhouse, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Zhujun Pan & Arend W. A. Van Gemmert

Authors
  1. Zhujun Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Arend W. A. Van Gemmert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arend W. A. Van Gemmert.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pan, Z., Van Gemmert, A.W.A. The effects of aging on the asymmetry of inter-limb transfer in a visuomotor task. Exp Brain Res 229, 621–633 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3625-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3625-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation