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18 - The effects of aging on sensorimotor control of the hand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2009

By
Kelly J. Cole
Edited by
Dennis A. Nowak  and
Joachim Hermsdörfer
Dennis A. Nowak
Affiliation:
Klinik Kipfenberg, Kipfenberg, Germany
Joachim Hermsdörfer
Affiliation:
Technical University of Munich
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Summary

Summary

Aging-related decline in hand function is ubiquitous and inexorable, beginning at about age 60 years. This decline disproportionately impacts dexterous grasp and manipulation. Many potential explanations for this decline have been offered, but the causes remain poorly understood. Here we report observations from our laboratory on timed tasks demonstrating that the forces and kinematics of dexterous grasp and manipulation in old adults differ from young adults, even at “comfortable” performance speeds. These observations support recent suggestions that controlling the moments of force applied to grasped objects is a fundamental problem in old age. Possible explanations lead to a review of contemporary issues related to the sensorimotor control of the aging hand. These topics include: sensory deterioration (both peripheral and central); reduced ability to coordinate muscle forces to control force vectors at the fingertip of a single digit and across digits; increased moment-to-moment force fluctuations; and loss of independent control of the right and left hands. On an optimistic note, training and practice appears to slow or reverse declining hand function in healthy aging.

Introduction

Hand function deteriorates unequivocally in healthy aging. Well-known decreases in muscle strength, mostly from sarcopenia (Holloszy, 1995; Hughes et al., 2001; Doherty, 2003), can account for increased difficulty in accomplishing some daily living skills, such as opening containers (Sperling, 1960; Shiffman, 1992). Manual dexterity also declines in old age, but in a manner that is dissociated from decreasing muscle strength.

Type
Chapter
Information
Sensorimotor Control of Grasping
Physiology and Pathophysiology
 , pp. 250 - 266
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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