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The influence of attention and age on the occurrence of mirror movements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2005

YASMIN BALIZ ,
CHRISTINE ARMATAS ,
MAREE FARROW ,
KATE E. HOY ,
PAUL B. FITZGERALD ,
JOHN L. BRADSHAW  and
NELLIE GEORGIOU-KARISTIANIS
YASMIN BALIZ
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
CHRISTINE ARMATAS
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
MAREE FARROW
Affiliation:
Experimental Neuropsychology Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
KATE E. HOY
Affiliation:
Experimental Neuropsychology Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred, Prahran, and Department of Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
PAUL B. FITZGERALD
Affiliation:
Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred, Prahran, and Department of Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
JOHN L. BRADSHAW
Affiliation:
Experimental Neuropsychology Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
NELLIE GEORGIOU-KARISTIANIS
Affiliation:
Experimental Neuropsychology Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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Abstract

This study utilised a finger force task to investigate the influence of attention and age on the occurrence of motor overflow in the form of mirror movements in neurologically intact adults. Forty right-handed participants were recruited from three age groups: 20–30 years, 40–50 years, and 60–70 years. Participants were required to maintain a target force using both their index and middle fingers, representing 50% of their maximum strength capacity for that hand. Attention was directed to a hand by activating a bone conduction vibrator attached to the small finger of that hand. Based on Cabeza's (2002) model of hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults, it was hypothesised that mirror movements would increase with age. Furthermore, it was expected that when the attentional demands of the task were increased, motor overflow occurrence would be exacerbated for the older adult group. The results obtained provide support for the model, and qualified support for the hypothesis that increasing the attentional demands of a task results in greater motor overflow. It is proposed that the association between mirror movements and age observed in this study may result from an age-related increase in bihemispheric activation that occurs in older adults, who, unlike younger adults, benefit from bihemispheric processing for task performance. (JINS, 2005, 11, 855–862.)

Keywords

AgingCorpus callosumMotor cortexMotor skillsCorticospinal tractMovement disorders
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 7 , November 2005 , pp. 855 - 862
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

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