Some (older but still relevant) items related to motor skills in older adults.
NeuRA 2017
Populations in many countries are aging as the proportion of people over 65 years is projected to increase over the next 30-40 years. Aging however, is accompanied by a reduced ability to perform daily tasks such as walking, rising from a chair and climbing stairs, ultimately impacting independence of living. These age-related reductions in daily functional activities are associated with changes in the neuromuscular system that include reduced muscle strength, power and endurance of limb muscles with notable declines beginning at around 60 years. Although people are living longer, the causes for the large declines in neuromuscular function with very advanced age (greater than 80 years) are not well described or understood. Other contributing factors such as physical activity, genetics, nutritional status, hormonal status and inflammation can interact with biological aging and modify these functional declines both within an individual and between people as they age. This review (Hunter et al., 2016) highlighted some of the known functional deficits and causes for age-related changes in muscle function with a focus on the basic functional unit of the neuromuscular system called the 'motor unit', which is a motor nerve and the muscle fibres it innervates.
ScienceDirect 2018
The purpose of this review is to discuss the structural and physiological changes that underlie age-related neuromuscular dysfunction and to summarize current evidence on the potential role of nutritional interventions on neuromuscular dysfunction-associated pathways. Age-related neuromuscular deficits are known to coincide with distinct changes in the central and peripheral nervous system, in the neuromuscular system, and systemically. Although many features contribute to the age-related decline in neuromuscular function, a comprehensive understanding of their integration and temporal relationship is needed. Nonetheless, many nutrients and ingredients show promise in modulating neuromuscular output by counteracting the age-related changes that coincide with neuromuscular dysfunction. In particular, dietary supplements, such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, creatine, and dietary phospholipids, demonstrate potential in ameliorating age-related neuromuscular dysfunction. However, current evidence seldom directly assesses neuromuscular outcomes and is not always in the context of aging. Additional clinical research studies are needed to confirm the benefits of dietary supplements on neuromuscular function, as well as to define the appropriate population, dosage, and duration for intervention.
Bio Med Central (BMC) 2008
This paper reviews research on motor-skill learning across the life span with particular emphasis on older age. For this purpose, studies that focus on age-related differences in fine and gross motor skills and studies that analyze the further refinement of known skills as well as learning of unknown motor skills are summarized. The reviewed studies suggest that although motor performance tends to decline in old age, learning capabilities remain intact, and older adults are able to achieve considerable performance gains. The extent to which the learning capability varies with age, however, has to be considered very carefully. While most studies revealed that performance gains in fine motor tasks are diminished in older adults, results for gross-motor-skill learning are more contradictory. Additionally, there is considerable agreement on the finding that age-related learning differences are statistically more robust in complex tasks, whereas in low-complexity tasks, the learning of younger and older adults is very similar. This applies to fine and gross motor skills. Relative age differences seem to become enlarged when effortful resources are required for motor performance. Thus, the decline in motor learning that accompanies aging is task specific and not absolute.
Brain&Life 2024
When people - young or old - learn to juggle, their brains change, research shows. One such study, published in 2004 in Nature, reported that gray matter in a part of the hippocampus that's associated with complex visual processing became denser. Another study, published in Nature Neuroscience in 2009, reported changes in the brain's white matter in areas associated with reaching and grasping in the periphery of vision-regardless of skill level.
These structural changes in the brain after juggling also may improve cognitive function, according to researchers in a 2022 review of 11 studies on juggling and the brain, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.