Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning

Scientific Journal

Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license

Authors

¹ MA of Motor Behavior, Department of Motor Behavior and Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

² Department of Motor Behavior and Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

³ Department of Motor Behavior and Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran .

https://doi.org/10.22059/jsmdl.2024.369126.1760

Abstract

Introduction: This research aimed to determine the effect of task complexity on bilateral transfer in older adults.
Methods: Thirty healthy elderly men and women, with a mean age of 68.5±7.4 years, were selected using a convenience sampling method. In the pretest phase, participants performed three types of finger dexterity tasks of different complexity, including the Purdue Pegboard Test, O'Connor Dexterity Test, and the Mirror Purdue Pegboard Test with dominant and non-dominant hands. They then practiced one of the tasks six times with their dominant hand. Finally, in the post-test and retention phase, they performed the task again with their dominant and non-dominant hands. There was a week interval between the post-test and retention test of the first task and the beginning of the second task practice. The time to complete each task was normalized compared to the time to complete the task in the pre-test phase and the percentage of progress was calculated concerning this situation in different iterations. One-way Analysis of Variance and the Pearson Correlation Coefficient were used to analyze the data (P≤0.05).
Results: The findings of the research showed that during the post-test and retention phase, there was a significant difference between the Purdue Pegboard Test and the Mirror Purdue Pegboard Test and also between the O'Connor Dexterity Test and the Purdue Pegboard Test in the non-dominant hand progress in performing finger dexterity skills with different complexity. Also, there was a significant correlation between the total practice time and the progress rate of the non-dominant hand in the Purdue task, and also between the progress rate of the dominant and non-dominant hands in the Purdue Pegboard Test and Mirror Purdue Pegboard Test.
Conclusion: It seems that for older adults, compensatory mechanisms are involved in bilateral transfer in complex tasks.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning

Volume 16, Issue 4
December 2024
Pages 39-52

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Receive Date: 25 December 2023
Revise Date: 13 April 2024
Accept Date: 13 April 2024

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