Motor Imagery Training Is Beneficial for Motor Memory of Upper and Lower Limb Tasks in Very Old Adults

Abstract

Human aging is associated with a decline in the capacity to memorize recently acquired motor skills. Motor imagery training is a beneficial method to compensate for this deterioration in old adults. It is not yet known whether these beneficial effects are maintained in very old adults (>80 years), who are more affected by the degeneration processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental training session of motor imagery on the memorization of new motor skills acquired through physical practice in very old adults. Thus, 30 very old adults performed 3 actual trials of a manual dexterity task (session 1) or a sequential footstep task (session 2) as fast as they could before and after a 20 min motor imagery training (mental-training group) or watching a documentary for 20 min (control group). Performance was improved after three actual trials for both tasks and both groups. For the control group, performance decreased in the manual dexterity task after the 20 min break and remained stable in the sequential footstep task. For the mental-training group, performance was maintained in the manual dexterity task after the 20 min motor imagery training and increased in the sequential footstep task. These results extended the benefits of motor imagery training to the very old population, showing that even a short motor imagery training session improved their performance and favored the motor memory process. These results confirmed that motor imagery training is an effective method to complement traditional rehabilitation protocols.