高齢者における示指と足部の3分間セルフペース・タッピング運動の特性

Objectives: We examined the effects of age on the speed and variability of continuous tapping movement of the hands and feet over 3 min. Methods: Tapping speed and variability of tapping interval during 3-min self-paced tapping tasks for the index finger and ankle-toe were compared between groups of 20 young people and 20 active elderly people. Results: No effect of age on tapping speed was found, but the variability of tapping interval decreased with age. Both groups showed no correlation between speed and variability, and the speed of the ankle-toe task was slower than that of the index finger task. There was a correlation between variability of the index finger task and that of the ankle-toe task in the elderly group. Movement speed was slower in the second half of the 3-min task time in both groups, but there was no difference in the degree of variability. Conclusions: Variability in self-paced single-joint tapping movement of the hands and feet may reflect regressive changes in the mechanisms of internal rhythm formation. In addition, for clinical screening, it is sufficient to conduct the task for 1.5 min to evaluate any changes in movement speed and variability