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Increasing right hand dominance with age on a motor skill task

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Malcolm P. I. Weller  and
D. T. Latimer-Sayer
Malcolm P. I. Weller*
Affiliation:
Friern Hospital, London
D. T. Latimer-Sayer
Affiliation:
Friern Hospital, London
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr M. P. I. Weller, Friern Hospital, Friern Barnet Road, New Southgate, London N11 3BP.
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Synopsis

A standardized pegboard task was used to investigate changes in manipulative skill as a function of age in 119 right-handed subjects. The typical pattern of cognitive impairment in old age indicates a relative preservation of functions which depend on the integrity of the left hemisphere. In accord with these observations, we predicted that, with increasing age, right hand motor skills would be better preserved than left hand skills. We found this on initial exposure to the task (P < 0·01); however, the phenomenon was masked by practice, because older subjects (over 60 years of age) derived more improvement to their left hand motor skill, as a result of practice, than they did to their right hand skill (P > 0·05).

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , November 1985 , pp. 867 - 872
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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