[MND] Nervous System Ageing: Implications for Motor Control

Question 1

Motor performance deficits of older adults include

Answer 1

coordination difficulty, increased variability of movement, slowing of movement and difficulty with balance and gait in comparison to young adults

Question 2

Movement slows with age by as much as

Answer 2

15 to 30%; appears to be part of a compensation in which older adults emphasise movement accuracy at the cost movement speed.

Question 3

Dual tasking deficits are seen in older adults and those with neurological conditions; dual tasking deficits are especially important for ____ and _____safety

Answer 3

BALANCE and WALKING safety

Question 4

Dual tasking deficits are seen in older adults and those with neurological conditions. Assessment of dual tasking ability is an important component of a thorough assessment of ______ and ______

Answer 4

BALANCE AND WALKING

Question 5

Dual tasking deficits are seen in older adults and those with neurological changes. Dual tasking is the _____

Answer 5

Ability to do more than one thing at a time

Question 6

Older adults have reduced brain volume thus it may be related to ______ _______.

Answer 6

Motor deficits

Question 7

Motor control increasingly relies on cognitive control and the prefrontal cortex with advancing age; it is suggested exercise can

Answer 7

enhance the functioning of prefrontal brain regions

Question 8

What happens to the cerebellum and basal ganglia pathways with ageing?

Answer 8

there is a decline.

Thus, with the cerebellum there is a decline in movement timing, coordination and age-related motor learning deficits

Question 9

There is degeneration of neurotransmitter systems, primarily the dopaminergic system may contribute to

Answer 9

age-related gross and fine motor declines, as well as to higher cognitive deficits