Dataset Information

Dexterous manipulation is poorer at older ages and is dissociated from decline of hand strength.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The ability to dynamically control fingertip force vector magnitude and direction is critical for dexterous manipulation. We quantified the dynamic control of fingertip forces to examine how dexterous manipulation declines with age.

Methods

The strength-dexterity (SD) test measures fingertip forces during compression of a slender spring prone to instability and buckling. The greatest sustained compression (designed to be under 3 N), and force dynamics therein, have been shown to be simple and quick measures of dynamic dexterous manipulation ability. We measured pinch strength and strength-dexterity test in a cross-sectional population of 98 people from 18 to 89 years of age.

Results

Dexterous manipulation ability is poorer at older ages, beginning in middle age (p < .001), with greater decline past 65 years of age. Fingertip force dynamics during spring compression and stabilization show a deterioration of neuromuscular control with age. Importantly, this novel detection of decline in dynamic manipulation ability is not correlated with, and thus cannot be entirely explained by, the known decline in pinch strength. We also measured standardized tests of dexterity in participants older than 45, and discuss how the strength-dexterity test uniquely captures features of sensorimotor capabilities for dexterous manipulation in this adult population.

Conclusions

Starting in middle age, changes in the functional interactions among sensory, motor, and neural capabilities result in measurably poorer dynamic dexterous manipulation. This deterioration of neuromuscular control motivates and enables future studies to understand the physiological bases for this functional decline so critical to activities of daily living and quality of life.

SUBMITTER: Dayanidhi S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4202259 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Dexterous manipulation is poorer at older ages and is dissociated from decline of hand strength.

Dayanidhi Sudarshan S Valero-Cuevas Francisco J FJ

The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences 20140307 9

<h4>Background</h4>The ability to dynamically control fingertip force vector magnitude and direction is critical for dexterous manipulation. We quantified the dynamic control of fingertip forces to examine how dexterous manipulation declines with age.<h4>Methods</h4>The strength-dexterity (SD) test measures fingertip forces during compression of a slender spring prone to instability and buckling. The greatest sustained compression (designed to be under 3 N), and force dynamics therein, have been ...[more]

PMID: 24610868

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Project description:Background and objectivesIt is widely recognized that survey satisficing, inattentive, or careless responding in questionnaires reduce the quality of self-report data. In this study, we propose that such low-quality responding (LQR) can carry substantive meaning at older ages. Completing questionnaires is a cognitively demanding task and LQR among older adults may reflect early signals of cognitive deficits and pathological aging. We hypothesized that older people displaying greater LQR would show faster cognitive decline and greater mortality risk.Research design and methodsWe analyzed data from 9, 288 adults 65 years or older in the Health and Retirement Study. Indicators of LQR were derived from participants' response patterns in 102 psychosocial questionnaire items administered in 2006-2008. Latent growth models examined whether LQR predicted initial status and change in cognitive functioning, assessed with the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status, over the subsequent 10 years. Discrete-time survival models examined whether LQR was associated with mortality risk over the 10 years. We also examined evidence for indirect (mediated) effects in which LQR predicts mortality via cognitive trajectories.ResultsAfter adjusting for age, gender, race, marital status, education, health conditions, smoking status, physical activity, and depressive symptoms, greater LQR was cross-sectionally associated with poorer cognitive functioning, and prospectively associated with faster cognitive decline over the follow-up period. Furthermore, greater LQR was associated with increased mortality risk during follow-up, and this effect was partially accounted for by the associations between LQR and cognitive functioning.Discussion and implicationsSelf-report questionnaires are not formally designed as cognitive tasks, but this study shows that LQR indicators derived from self-report measures provide objective, performance-based information about individuals' cognitive functioning and survival. Self-report surveys are ubiquitous in social science, and indicators of LQR may be of broad relevance as predictors of cognitive and health trajectories in older people.

Dataset Information

Dexterous manipulation is poorer at older ages and is dissociated from decline of hand strength.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Dexterous manipulation is poorer at older ages and is dissociated from decline of hand strength.

Similar Datasets

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