Finger-specific effects of age on tapping speed and motor fatigability.

Increased motor fatigability is a symptom of many neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders. However, it is difficult to pinpoint pathological motor fatigability, since the phenomena has not yet been fully characterized in the healthy population. In this study, we investigate how motor fatigability differs across age. Given that many disorders involve supraspinal components, we characterize motor fatigability with a paradigm that has previously been associated with supraspinal mechanisms. Finger tapping at maximal speed results in a rapid decrease in movement speed, which is a measure of motor fatigability. We collected finger tapping data in a field experiment from the general population with a smartphone app, and we investigated age differences in maximal tapping speed, as well as the decrease in tapping speed for the index, middle, and little fingers. We found that the maximal tapping speed differed significantly between young (18-30 years, These findings might relate to dexterity, with more dexterous movements being more resistant to fatigue. In this study, we provide a characterization of motor fatigability in the general population which can be used as a comparison for clinical populations in the future.

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Copyright © 2024 Heimhofer, Neumann, Odermatt, Bächinger and Wenderoth.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.