Tempo de reação, tempo de movimento e aquisição de timing antecipatorio em idosos

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

1993

RESUMO

Motor performance is related to muscular factors, more in terms of control rather than strength, but it seems particularly related to information processing speed. During the aging process, motor response time increases due to organism structural and functioning modifications. Nevertheless, the identificationof factors involved in this response temporal slowing and the way these factors affect the and spatial organization of movements need more investigation. The purpose of this study was characterize reaction time (RT), movement initially to time (MT), anticipatory timing performance and their relationships in the aged and to verify the influence of these temporal organization characteristicsof performance on the learning of an anticipatory timing task. Thirty individuaIs between the ages of sixty and seventy-nineyears participated in this research. The Reaction Movement Timer and Bassin Anticipation Timer, both produced by Lafayette Instruments, were used, respectively, to measure RT (msec) , MT (msec) , and anticipatory timing (absolute error in msec). The experimental design comprised three phases: a) RT, MT, and anticipatory timing performance; b) the acquisition phase, which involved practicing an anticipatory timing task (54 trials); and c) the retention phase, in which, after a sevenday interval, individuaIs made six trials at the task they had previously practiced. In order to investigate the effect of the three variables on learning, the individuals were distributed in six experimental groups: (TRB) low reaction time; (TRA) high reaction time; (TMB) low movement time; (TMA) high movement time; (TIB) low timing; and (TIA) high timing. The results were analysed in terms of absolute, constant, and variable error by using analysis of variance, student t test and Pearson correlation testo The results showed a low correlation among RT, MT, and anticipatory timing performance. The effect of practice was observed in all of the groups that showed a gradual reduction of errors and maintained a similar leveI of performance in the retention phase. The effect of low or high RT was attenuated during the learning process, whereas the effects of MT and initial anticipatory timing performance were not reverted by practice, that is, these groups showed different levels of performance along the entire learning process. It is necessary to point out that both RT an MT are related to maximum response speed, while antecipatory timing refers to optimal speed. In this sense, these results supported some of research s conceptual and theoretical assumptions, but also revealed aspects that deserve greater attention, such as the influence of MT in the acquisition of anticipatory timing, for even using movements with a rather simple degree of organization, the learning process did not modify initial differences showed by TMB and TMA groups

ASSUNTO(S)

capacidade motora idosos tempo e reação

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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