Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effects of normal aging on motor imagery vividness and working memory. Design: Descriptive study with 3 groups. Setting: Laboratory of a university-affiliated research rehabilitation center. Participants: A sample of healthy persons (N=80) divided into 3 age groups: young (26 ± 5.0y), intermediate (53.6 ± 5.4y), and elderly (67.6 ± 4.6y). Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The kinesthetic and visual imagery scores of the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire and scores from 3 domains of working memory (visuospatial, kinesthetic, verbal). Results: Results revealed that visual motor imagery scores were higher than kinesthetic scores (imagery effect: P = .001); however, there was also a significant imagery × group interaction (P = .017). Post hoc analyses showed that only the young and intermediate groups had higher visual than kinesthetic motor imagery scores (P = .005 and .001, respectively), indicating a loss of visual motor imagery dominance in the elderly group. There was no group effect (P = .963) signifying that the level of motor imagery vividness was comparable between age groups. Significant decreases (17.3 % and 22.5 %, respectively) in visuospatial working memory scores were found in the intermediate (P = .011) and elderly (P = .001) groups, whereas a significant reduction (P = .01) in kinesthetic working memory scores was observed only in the elderly group (26.7 %). There was also an age-related significant decline of visuospatial (r = −.50) and kinesthetic (r =−.34) working memory. Conclusions: The level of motor imagery vividness does not diminish with age, but the quality changes. The dominance of visual motor imagery lessens with aging resulting in motor imagery modality-equivalence. These motor imagery alterations are associated with an age-related decline in visuospatial and kinesthetic working memory. Verf.-Referat