Rhythmic ability decline in aging individuals: The role of movement task complexity

Study aim: To investigate age-related changes in rhythmic reproduction ability in relation to the complexity of the adopted movement task. Material and methods: A Stereophotogrammetric system was used to quantify individual rhythmic performances through motion analysis. Seventeen younger adult (age: 34.8 +/- 4.2 yrs) and sixteen older adult (age: 69.9 +/- 3.8 yrs) sedentary individuals volunteered for this study. Participants were administered a rhythmic test, which included three different rhythmic patterns to be reproduced by means of finger-tapping. foot-tapping and walking. Number of correct reproductions, time delays and rhythmic ratios were assessed and submitted to analysis of variance. Results: For all rhythmic parameters. age-related differences emerged about rhythmic patterns and motor tasks. Older adults showed reduced accuracy as compared to their younger counterparts with a marked tendency to speed up beats reproduction (p < 0.05). Increased movement complexity negatively influenced rhythmic ability, with worst performances in the walking task (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Complexity of the motor reproduction worsen rhythmic ability. Future research should focus on how specific rhythmic training with progressive movement task complexity could contrast this age-related decline.

Automated summary

The study showed that age-related changes in rhythmic reproduction ability are influenced by the complexity of the adopted movement task. Older adults demonstrated reduced accuracy and tendency to speed up beats reproduction, especially in more complex tasks like walking. Further research should examine how specific rhythmic training with progressive movement task complexity can help counteract this age-related decline.