Age interferes with sensorimotor timing and error correction in the supra-second range

Introduction: Precise motor timing including the ability to adjust movements after changes in the environment is fundamental to many daily activities. Sensorimotor timing in the sub-and supra-second range might rely on at least partially distinct brain networks, with the latter including the basal ganglia (BG) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Since both structures are particularly vulnerable to age-related decline, the present study investigated whether age might distinctively affect sensorimotor timing and error correction in the supra-second range.

Methods: A total of 50 healthy right-handed volunteers with 22 older (age range: 50–60 years) and 28 younger (age range: 20–36 years) participants synchronized the tap-onsets of their right index finger with an isochronous auditory pacing signal. Stimulus onset asynchronies were either 900 or 1,600 ms. Positive or negative step-changes that were perceivable or non-perceivable were occasionally interspersed to the fixed intervals to induce error correction. A simple reaction time task served as control condition.

Results and Discussion: In line with our hypothesis, synchronization variability in trials with supra-second intervals was larger in the older group. While reaction times were not affected by age, the mean negative asynchrony was significantly smaller in the elderly in trials with positive step-changes, suggesting more pronounced tolerance of positive deviations at older age. The analysis of error correction by means of the phase correction response (PCR) suggests reduced error correction in the older group. This effect emerged in trials with supra-second intervals and large positive step-changes, only. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that sensorimotor synchronization in the sub-second range is maintained but synchronization accuracy and error correction in the supra-second range is reduced in the elderly as early as in the fifth decade of life suggesting that these measures are suitable for the early detection of age-related changes of the motor system.